


For some reason, you were expecting skeletons

by nyxs_tricks



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (technically??), ARE YOU READY FOR THE ONE BED TROPE, BECAUSE BOY AM I READY FOR IT, Fluff, Harem, Multi, Other, Reader's gender is not specified, Reverse Harem, Romance, Slow Burn, a lot of my own headcanons about magic and stuff in the future hoo boy, also fish!!, also there's a bird, and getting suspicious neighbors to like you apparently, and hints at characters' backstory but hey whatever just focus on the fish, are you guys ready for some shit to go down? i'm ready for some shit to go down, are you ready for some mcfucking tropes, dogpiles are good for the soul, guESS WHAT BITCHES IT’S HALLOWEEN TIME, how the everloving fuck do i tag, humanswitch, i sure hope so, i think it's about time some shit went down tbh, i’ll add tags if i need to as it goes on, my version of one anyways, nothing full-blown though, reader tends to get a few anxiety-induced thoughts just fyi, they’re all humans and all ladies that’s essentially what’s going on here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 04:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 58,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyxs_tricks/pseuds/nyxs_tricks
Summary: After moving to the seaside to give your motivation a boost, you end up neighboring with a group of - admittedly pretty - girls.They seem to have taken an interest in you.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 



Just a few more boxes to unpack, and you’ll be completely moved in.

Was it worth it, moving this close to the seaside just to help you write your next book? The small house was affordable, sure, and the town was just a five minute walk inland, but you’re starting to doubt yourself. Wise decisions never really were your thing.

Despite being so close to the beach, you haven’t seen many people around. The weather’s been a bit colder recently, but you would’ve thought it’s still warm enough to enjoy the beach. Maybe not. It might have something to do with the giant resort a few minutes drive away - you’ve seen humans and monsters alike flock to it no matter the time of year. At least it’s far away enough to not be of any bother to you - there’s also no houses in front of yours, so you get a front-row seat to the waves lapping at the sand and rocks. (And easiest access to the ice-cream cart, hell yeah)

Oh well, even if you have changed your mind, you can’t exactly go back now. Besides, the view really is beautiful, and the seaside town has a certain aesthetic to it that reminds you of warm, relaxing summer days. Yeah, maybe it won’t be so bad, you’re just annoyed because you’ve had to unpack boxes for the past few days by yourself.

You’re just about to get started on the next one when you hear a knock at the door.

You’re not expecting anyone, and the only occupied house near you is the - frankly quite large - place next door. Did you park your motorbike in their space by accident, maybe? You grab your keys on the way to the door just in case, prepared to offer to move it.

In the back of your mind, you were expecting to open the door to a monster. Since being released onto the surface, they’ve started populating various areas, and the beach tends to be a popular choice for aquatic-based monsters. The resort is also monster-owned, apparently, so it’s understandable that a lot of them would choose to go there. There’s so many different shapes and sizes of monsters, you can’t help but be amazed every time you see them. You’ve even seen a group of literal walking, talking skeletons before near the resort - maybe it’s one of them? That would sure be interesting.

Instead, you open the door to a very tall, dark skinned girl that’s beaming cheerfully down at you. A red cable-knit scarf is draped around her neck, and her white blouse is tucked into high-waisted black trousers. She looks quite stylish. Without missing a beat, she offers you her hand to shake. “Hello, new neighbor!” 

Oh, she must live next door.

Taken slightly aback by her immediate friendliness, you blink before trying to return her smile and shaking her hand. You find that she has quite a strong grip. “Oh, um, hi!” You’re not quite sure what she’s doing here, but you try your best to come off just as friendly. It seems as if she’s happy to explain her presence, as she continues speaking as soon as she lets go of your hand.

“I wanted to be the first to welcome you! You’re the first person to move so close in quite a while,” She has a hint of an accent in her voice, but you can’t quite place where she might be from. The girl plants her hands on her hips in a confident manner, and meanwhile you stay awkwardly hiding your hands in your pockets. “I would’ve come when you first arrived a few days ago, but I figured you’d want some time to settle in first!”

Aw, how sweet.

You’re about to say something, but still the girl continues. “That said, I’d like to offer my assistance with helping you get everything up to your standards! If there’s anything left to do, of course, I do realise that I’m a bit late in the ‘helping to unpack’ department” You only just catch her glance over your shoulder - she must’ve noticed the lack of boxes in the corridor. Damn, if only she’d knocked on your door two or three days ago; you would’ve loved some help.

“No no, it’s fine, thank you,” You take a hand out of your pocket and gesture loosely behind you, “I’m pretty much done, there wasn’t much to unpack to start with. Thanks for offering, though” You’ve never had such a willingly helpful neighbor before, even if she had shown up a little later than you needed.

“Alright, if you’re sure. I’ll gladly help with anything you need, though! I’m just nextdoor, so you can get me any time!” With the way she’s smiling so cheerfully at you, and how kind she’s being, you’re pretty sure you’ve just scored the jackpot in neighboring with an angel.

“Well, I mean..” You haven’t gotten your internet set up yet, and you do really need to check your emails as soon as possible. And she did just say she’d help with whatever, so it couldn’t hurt to ask, right? “Would I be able to use your wi-fi real quick? Mine’s not working yet and I kinda need to check my work stuff”

“Of course!” She seems.. Proud? “Someone dedicated to their work, I can respect that. Would you like to go now?”

Should you go now? You’d like to get sorting through your emails done and dusted, but.. You glance over your shoulder at the open boxes sitting on your kitchen counter. Yeah, if you don’t get those done today, you’ll never do it.

Looking back to her, you smile almost sheepishly and shake your head. “I’d like to finish these last few boxes first, if that’s okay. I don’t need any help with them, but if I leave it now I’ll probably never get them unpacked” 

She nods understandingly, and her friendly smile never wavers. “Alright! Just come on over whenever you’re ready, then!” When you nod, she turns to leave, but then pauses and looks back at you. “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to ask your name?”

You tell her, and she beams at you again. “What a lovely name! You can call me Angel, neighbor!” And with that, Angel leaves.

Well, at least you were correct in thinking that you’re next door neighbors with an angel.

—

Unpacking the last few boxes took longer than you had anticipated - the sun is in the process of disappearing behind the expanse of water by the time you allow yourself to crash facefirst onto the small couch. Ribbons of light are filtering through the windows, and you shift yourself just enough to be able to look at the room. You haven’t done too bad a job with setting everything up, if you do say so yourself. With the sunset outside dusting everything in an orange glow, it looks quite pretty. That, coupled with the view and the fresh ocean air is definitely something you could get used to.

You shift again to lay on your back, closing your eyes and allowing yourself to relax for a few moments. You find your thoughts drifting back to your encounter with Angel - now that you’ve had time to think about it, you could swear you’ve seen her somewhere else before. Or at least someone who looks like her.

Thinking of Angel also reminds you about her offer to let you use her internet. Shit, it’s getting late now.. Is it too late to go over there? You don’t want to bother her or anyone else who lives there if they’re having dinner or something.

You also really don’t want to move right now. The couch may be small, but damn if it isn’t comfy after you’ve been moving all around the house all day.

Forgoing the effort of getting up to change and get into your bed, you decide to let yourself fall asleep right where you are. You can wash and change clothes in the morning. Maybe you’ll even go for a stroll on the beach tomorrow, now that you’ve got everything unpacked.

Yeah, that would be nice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * You meet (some of) your neighbors.

The next morning, you discover why people don’t usually sleep on the couch.

Your back is stiff, and you have to move slowly at first. You’re cold, too - the temperature likely dropped soon after the sun went down. Oh well, nothing a warm shower can’t fix.

Once you’re done and dried off and dressed (and recovered from almost slipping and hitting your head on the railing of the unfamiliar shower), you pick up your phone on your way to the kitchen. 10.16am, not too bad. That’s probably a suitable time to go ask Angel if you can use her internet today, actually.

Speak of the devil (angel??), you can see her and someone else passing by outside through the kitchen window. Deciding that you can get food later, you shove your phone and keys in your pocket and head outside. Is that other girl she’s with one of your neighbors, too? They look very similar, maybe they’re sisters.

“Angel!” She looks your way when you call to her, and waves with the hand not occupied by the other girl’s wrist as you close the door behind you. She’s wearing a sundress today, but her scarf is still in place. The girl next to her has a plaid shirt and shorts on, and- are those heelys?

“Good morning, neighbor!” Angel is just as friendly as she was yesterday, and you find yourself returning her smile easily. Beside her, heelys girl gives you a short wave.

You jog down the steps of your front porch and decide to just jump the small gate instead of opening and closing it - you’d taken an embarrassingly long time to get it to open every other time you tried, you’re not about to embarrass yourself in front of your neighbors, too. Angel turns and walks towards you as you do, quite literally dragging the other girl behind her. Yeah, those are definitely heelys.

You’re tempted to laugh, but instead jog a few steps to meet them halfway. “Sorry I didn’t come ‘round yesterday, unpacking took longer than I thought” Maybe you should’ve asked for her help yesterday. Too late now.

Angel just shakes her head with a smile, “Don’t worry!” She lets go of the other girl’s wrist - you glance at her as she does so, and holy shit, she’s even taller than Angel - and plants her hands on her hips as she did yesterday. Perhaps it’s a habit. “Do you still want to use our internet? We can go now, if you like”

“Yes, please-” You don’t even get chance to say thank you before Angel has linked her arm with yours and is leading you back to her house. You’re caught slightly off guard, but adjust quickly and do your best to keep pace with her.

“This is Ri, by the way! She lives with my sister and I, and the others”

“So you two aren’t sisters? You look really similar” You look over your shoulder at Ri, who’s now rolling behind you and Angel with her hands in her pockets. She shakes her head, using one foot to propel herself forwards.

“Nope,” Her voice is.. A lot deeper and smoother than you were expecting. Hopefully you masked your surprise well enough. “We’re cousins, but m’sister lives with us too” You notice that Ri has an accent to her voice, too - it sounds vaguely Italian.

Nodding, you look in front of you again just as you reach the gate in front of your neighbors’ house. Your own house looks almost comically small next to it. Angel unlatches the lock on the gate and, without releasing your arm, guides you through and up to the front porch. Hearing a click behind you, you assume that Ri closed the gate.

The front of the house looks quite cute - there’s a windchime hanging near a pair of deck chairs on the porch, and a small stool between them that you guess they must use as a makeshift table. The house itself has been painted a light blue, and from what you can see there’s what looks like a garden on the roof.

After rummaging around for a moment in the pockets you didn’t realise she had, Angel tuts and mutters something under her breath. She then resigns herself to knocking.

“Did’ja forget your keys again?” You jump at how close Ri is - you hadn’t heard her walk up next to you.

“No, of course not!” Angel’s response is immediate, but her eyes shift from side to side suspiciously. “I just.. Tactfully elected not to use them”

As Ri snickers at her, you find yourself grinning in amusement as well. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Angel knocks again - a bit louder this time.

“RUBY OPEN THE DOOR RIGHT THIS SECOND OR _DIÓS_ HELP ME-“

_“Vaale, vaaale”_

The yelling makes you flinch, but your two escorts don’t seem phased in the slightest. You’re about to ask if you should come back later when the lock clicks and the door opens.

Stood behind it is a much shorter girl - who, judging by the yelling a few seconds ago, you guess is Ruby - with a maroon tank top and a fur lined jacket slipping off her shoulders. Her hair covers one eye, which you’re not sure has been done on purpose or not, and she has patches of skin that are lighter than the rest. Isn’t that a specific skin condition? You can’t quite remember the name of it.

Ruby looks at you, then Angel, and smirks. The sunlight shining behind you reflects off her lip piercing, making it glint as it moves. “You forget your keys again, _mija?”_

“No! I did not!”

Beside you, Ri laughs again and gently shoves Ruby’s shoulder to get past her. Angel follows suit, pulling you along with her, and you hear the door shut behind you.

“This the neighbor you were tellin’ us about?” You look at the shortest amongst you when she mentions you, and give as friendly a smile as you can. Before you can say anything, Angel answers for you.

“Indeed they are! They’re going to borrow our internet for a bit to check their work,” She pauses, then detaches her arm from yours and crosses them. “Maybe you and my sister could take a few notes from someone with an actual work ethic” Her tone is teasing, and you can tell Ruby takes it as such by the way she scoffs and grins.

That also rules out Ruby as being Angel’s sister - you’d started to think that maybe she was, considering how they speak to eachother. They also have similar accents, you notice.

“I got a work ethic, it just so happens that my ethic dictates that breaks are more important” This gets a short laugh out of you, and Ruby’s grin widens. Angel, on the other hand, just ghasps as if she’s been personally offended.

“Unbelievable! Neighbor, please don’t encourage her,” With the way she throws her hands up in exasperation, you can’t help but continue laughing. Angel seems to be fighting a grin, and you realize that she’s overreacting on purpose. That just makes it funnier. “I’m going to go find Fell - Ruby, please show our guest the wi-fi password, and try not to infect them with your lethargy”

“Aye aye, cap’n”

With a decisive nod and a giggle at Ruby’s half-hearted salute, Angel offers you one last smile as she turns and leaves down the short corridor, disappearing into one of the rooms. Now being left with a near-stranger, you awkwardly turn to look at Ruby.

She meets your gaze for a moment, and you realize with a start that her one visible eye is incredibly blue and clear. It feels a bit like she’s staring into your soul. You try your best not to fidget under her stare and smile instead.

Apparently, she decides that whatever she saw in her study of you isn’t a threat, and gestures with her head towards the room to your left. A quick glance at it shows that it’s the living room. “Ri’s in there, she’ll give ya the password, jus’ shout if you need anything” And with that, Ruby leaves you in favor of going upstairs.

You’re not sure what to think of that.

Either way, you do as she said and enter the living room. Lo and behold, Ri is sprawled out on the couch, and lifts an arm up towards you when she sees you. With a quiet “thanks” you take the card, and pull out your phone to put in the password. As you do so, you mentally count how many of the house’s residents you’ve seen or heard so far. It’s been.. Four so far, right?

“How many of you live here?” The question is out of your mouth before you can stop yourself. Ri just shrugs and tucks her arms behind her head.

“Eight,” Holy shit, “Sometimes nine, if Zia’s staying for a bit” Holy _shit._

You don’t think you could possibly bear to room with that many people, related or not. Noticing your apparent surprise, Ri grins at you knowingly. “It’s not _that_ bad, usually. Some of us are more energetic than others”

“Like Angel?” She strikes you as the type to be up and doing things often. While you continue talking with Ri, you sit down on the edge of the couch when she moves her leg to make space for you.

“Yep - and heh, if you think Angie’s energetic, just wait ‘till you meet my sister” That must mean Ruby isn’t Ri’s sister, either. How many sisters are in this house, exactly?

You just raise your eyebrows in reply, and Ri’s grin doesn’t leave her face. After a moment you just huff a laugh and busy yourself with checking through the emails and other notifications that have just loaded on your phone.

You almost miss the hushed talking upstairs, and the loud footsteps that follow soon after.

As soon as the noises register, you look up, only to be greeted by a shout of _“INCOMING!”_ and a curly-haired blonde girl vaulting herself over the banister.

A surprised noise is all you can produce, and you freeze halfway through getting up when the girl lands in a superhero pose and crouches to lessen the impact. You’re staring at her in shock, and Ri is laughing - probably at your expression.

“And she sticks the landing!” The new girl straightens when Ri puts on a presenter’s voice, and you can see her grin as she raises her hands above her head. “The crowd goes wild! Ooh! Oooohh!”

The girl is laughing now as well as she bows to the stage-whispered cheering. You realise that she’s not hurt from the fall - admittedly, the banister isn’t that high up - and sit back down, a smile forming on your face at the two’s antics. So this must be Ri’s sister?

She’s wearing a pastel green t-shirt, denim shorts, and a navy blue varsity jacket is tied around her waist. Are those star patches sewn onto it?

“I was told the new neighbor is here! That’s you, right?” Her voice is chipper, and has the same accent as Ri’s. It draws your attention immediately. She practically bounds over to you, and offers her hand for you to shake, which you do.

“Uh, yep, that’d be me” You’re not entirely sure how to react to her, considering she just flung herself over a banister as if she does it on a regular basis.

... _Does_ she do it on a regular basis?

“Well! Welcome to scenic our house!” She lets go of your hand and spreads her arms out, and your grin matches hers. “You can call me Bubbles, what’s your name?”

That’s definitely a nickname, but you choose not to comment on it, and instead introduce yourself. Bubbles nods as you do, and places her hands on her hips in a way that reminds you of Angel. “It’s nice to finally meet you! Angel was talking about you at dinner yesterday, did you get those boxes unpacked okay?”

She keeps the conversation going very easily, you notice. It might just be because of how friendly she’s being, but you find that you don’t feel awkward talking to her. “It took longer than I thought, but I got it done, thanks” Next to you, Ri props herself up on her elbows.

“Did you get card- _bored_ unpacking for so long?” Her grin is absolutely shit eating, and you laugh despite yourself. Oh god, that was horrible.

“Ri-ri, no” Bubbles’ grin has fallen into a deadpan expression, and her hands have fallen back to her sides as she slumps over-exaggeratedly. Like when Angel did it, this just makes you laugh more.

“Aw c’mon, _sorella_ , they like it!” You’re not quite sure what she said it the middle there, but you continue laughing anyways. Bubbles just sighs a long suffering sigh and shakes her head in mock disappointment.

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” She sounds defeated, but you can see a twitch of a smile on her face. Looking at you again, she lets the smile come back full force. “Feel free to come find me when you’re done! And do me a favor and kick my sister if she tries to make any more puns, okay?”

“I’m hurt, sis” Judging by the over-exaggerated way Ri has draped herself back over the couch, and how she has her hand clutching her chest to mock her pain, you get the feeling this happens a lot.

Bubbles doesn’t grace her with an answer, instead giving you a look before heading the same way Angel did. Once she’s gone, you look at Ri with a grin.

“So that’s your sister?”

“That’s my sister”

—

You spend the next half an hour talking with Ri, and discover that she’s actually kinda cool. She has a bird, she confirmed your suspicions about her and Bubbles being Italian, and does various ‘odd jobs’. She refused to name any of said jobs, and you didn’t ask. You also noticed that she’s absolutely _covered_ in freckles.

Truthfully, you’d finished checking everything you needed to check about twenty five minutes ago, but you couldn’t bring yourself to end the conversation. It’s been a while since you’ve been able to talk to someone so easily. You don’t want to overstay your welcome, though, so you end up saying goodbye after being given directions to the kitchen.

Once you find it, you see Bubbles sat on one of the counters, and Angel talking to yet another girl you don’t recognize. Is she the one that yelled at Ruby earlier? The conversation stops abruptly when the one you don’t know the name of notices you, and she crosses her arms as she looks you up and down. You shift awkwardly on the spot, not exactly fond of her intense glaring.

She’s about a head shorter than Angel, and you immediately notice what looks like a scar running diagonally across her face. You try not to stare, but it looks quite painful, and only just misses her eyes. Her hair is braided and hangs over one shoulder, and she’s got a punk-rock look going for her; a grey crop-top that’s the tiniest bit see-through, and dark red shorts with spikes and studs adorning the sides. There’s scars littered across her arms and legs, too - geez, what happened to her?

“Oh! Have you done all you needed to?” Angel seems happy to see you again, and you take the opportunity to look away from the mildly intimidating girl that’s staring at you. Bubbles has noticed you now as well, and is looking at you attentively.

“Yeah, thanks - I’ll get out of your hair now” A short huff of a laugh accompanies your sentence, but Angel waves her hand dismissively.

“There’s no rush!”

“Yeah! We’re neighbors now, you can’t get rid of us that easily!” Bubbles chimes in, swinging her legs gently back and forth. You notice that she has her hair tied in pigtails now.

“Well, I mean, I’d love to get to know you guys better, but I should really get started on my work at home,” You can see Bubbles practically deflate at this news, but Angel nods in understanding.

“That’s alright, we can see eachother some other time-“

“You could join us for dinner tomorrow?” The voice that you’d been talking to for the last half an hour appears behind you, and you turn to face Ri with a start. She’s leaning casually against the doorframe and grinning lopsidedly, as if she didn’t just pull off some ninja-level sneaking.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Bubbles perk up and jump off the counter. “That’s a great idea, Ri-ri! We’re going to the restaurant just up the road for dinner tomorrow, you gotta join us!”

“Well-“

“You can meet the rest of us there, too, if you’re able to go” Angel cuts in smoothly - she seems excited for the idea as well, but you can tell she’s giving you the choice.

You don’t have anything planned for tomorrow, apart from sitting yourself down and getting started on the drafts for your book, so you’d be able to go. You also get the feeling it’ll be fun, if the rest of them are as kind as the girls you’ve met so far. (Well, apart from the one currently staring you down that you’re pointedly ignoring for the time being)

“Okay, what time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully this chapter being longer makes up for the uneventfulness of the first one hah
> 
> any feedback is really appreciated <3 <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * You go to dinner.

After giving Angel and Bubbles your phone number, and getting introduced to Fell - the girl that had been staring at you - you make your way home. You’re honestly starting to think that all the girls have just been introducing themselves with their nicknames - who names their child ‘Fell’?

You haven’t even reached your front door yet, and you can already feel your phone vibrating in your pocket. Your attention is elsewhere, though; as soon as you get inside and close the door, you head straight for the kitchen. Skipping breakfast had been a mistake.

—

The next day passes rather uneventfully. You sat yourself down to start rough drafts for your book, feeling relaxed and encouraged by the picturesque scene outside your window. But other than working on that for the majority of the day, getting your internet set up, and answering the occasional text from Angel or Bubbles, you didn’t do much.

And now, you’re just finishing getting dressed for dinner when your phone buzzes from your desk. It’s a text from Bubbles, and you unlock the screen to read it properly.

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _we’re heading off now!!_

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _if you hurry you can walk with us_

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _the restaurant’s only lke five minutes away_

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _like*_

You’re not quite ready yet, so you decline walking with them. Are all eight (nine??) of them going? Within seconds of you sending your reply, Bubbles has sent you another text.

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _okay!! we’ll get someone to wait outside the restaurant for you so you dont miss it_

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _i just asked & i think angel’s gonna make vani do it_

You chuckle quietly to yourself, and reply again before setting your phone back down. You don’t know who ‘Vani’ is, but you know where the restaurant is, so you’ll probably be okay.

Hurrying a bit so you don’t keep them waiting too long, you finish doing what you need to do and grab your keys, phone, and some money on your way out. The sky is still blue and scarce of clouds when you step outside, and you take a moment to appreciate the soft breeze washing over you and the view of the calm beach. There’s a few people there now, although you suspect they’ll be leaving as soon as the sun goes down.

Once you’ve locked your door, you head down the few stairs and short pathway leading away from your house. You end up jumping the gate again.

On the walk to the restaurant, you fish out your phone and send a quick text to Bubbles to let her and the others know you’re on your way. There’s no almost-immediate reply, unlike other times; she must be busy. You look around at the town as you pass through - there’s not as many people around as you expected. You pass by some cobblestone stairs next to a souvenir shop, and glance up at where they lead. You’d never noticed that crystals shop before; it’s hidden away behind a few houses and a bookstore.

As you continue, you eventually reach the restaurant and take notice of someone leaning against the wall by the doors. She’s short - shorter than Bubbles - and dark skinned like the other girls you’ve met so far. Her hair is incredibly curly - if she wasn’t a stranger, you’d be tempted to touch it. The black beanie with what looks like a cartoon skull on it seems only just able to stay on, judging by how she periodically tugs it down into place. Or maybe it’s just a habit?

She’s dressed casually - a simple white t-shirt and blue hoodie, and denim jeans. And you can just about see some pink fuzzy socks peeking out of her shoes. Yeah, seems like your kind of person. Is this the ‘Vani’ that Bubbles said would wait for you?

Whoever she is, she notices you quickly, but makes no effort to move from her place against the wall. She just gives a lazy salute instead, which you return with a smile. “Heya,” Her voice is quiet and smooth with a distinctive lilt to it, and she finally moves away from the wall once you’re in front of her. The hand that’s not hidden in her hoodie’s pocket is offered to you to shake, and you take it without a second thought. The unmistakable sound of a whoopie cushion that follows makes you bark out a surprised laugh. 

The girl’s grinning now too, seemingly pleased by your reaction, and rotates her hand to display the toy that had been partly concealed by her sleeve. “You’re the neighbor Ri and my sister were goin’ on about, right? I sure hope so, otherwise that would’a been a _gas_ tronomical waste of a joke”

Her sister? So _this_ must be Angel’s sister. At least that’s one mystery solved. “Yeah, that’d be me” You can’t help a small snicker at the pun - this vaguely reminds you of the convo with Ri yesterday.

“Nice. You can call me Vani, if ya-“

“Nah, call ‘er Vanilla, she hates it”

Both you and Vani look to the doors of the restaurant at the new voice, and Vani immediately rolls her eyes when she sees Ruby there. You can just about hear her mutter a “Please don’t” under her breath as Ruby approaches and casually slings her arm around her friend’s(?) shoulders. She’s barely tall enough to do so comfortably.

You find yourself grinning in amusement despite the long-suffering look Vani’s giving you. “Why Vanilla?” It’s obviously another nickname, but you’d thought that ‘Vani’ was just a name by itself. Is it shortened from Vanilla, or-?

“Classic an’ boring” Ruby’s matter-of-fact answer drives another laugh out of you. You’re not sure what she means by ‘classic’, but you suspect it might be some kind of inside joke between them, since even Vani snorts at it. Or was it a ‘yeah, right’ kind of snort? She’s kind of hard to read.

“Yeah, okay,” Vani half-heartedly shrugs Ruby’s arm off, “Why’re you out here? There’s food inside, I would’a thought you’d be all over that”

“Eh,” Ruby shrugs, and you notice now that she’s eyeing you again. It feels less judging this time, but it puts you on edge just the same.

“Who are you and what have you done with my _amiga?_ ” You hadn’t picked up on any particular accent in Vani’s voice before now, but as soon as she says what you recognize to be ‘friend’ she sounds unmistakably Spanish. Does that mean Angel is, too? 

Ruby snorts and shoves her hands into her pockets, adopting a similar - almost identical, actually - stance to Vani after nudging her with her shoulder. “You think I’m your friend? ‘m honored, _clásica_ ” You decide that Ruby is very likely Spanish too.

While the exchange between the two is entertaining, it comes to an end when Vani looks at you and gestures towards the doors. “D’you wanna head inside? The others are in there - shouldn’t be too hard to spot” You nod, and say a quick goodbye as you head in. The two girls stay outside, continuing to talk to eachother.

The restaurant is definitely keeping with the seaside theme - the walls are painted in pastel blues and yellows, and there are shells and fake starfish decorations arranged on the windowsills. It has a very relaxed air to it.

Like Vani said, it’s not hard to spot your neighbors. Including the two you’d just said goodbye to, there’s eight of them now - the one that Ri mentioned must not be here. Angel looks up from the table she’s sat at and waves you over when she spots you.

“You made it! Come on, Ri saved a seat for you!” Almost every single other girl sat at the table looks at you when you approach, and you try not to let it make you nervous. Instead, you give a polite smile and take your seat between Ri and a girl you haven’t met yet. They look incredibly similar.

“So you’re (Y/N), huh?” The girl drawls, propping her chin up on her hand. Her hair has been pulled into a loose ponytail over her shoulder, and a black jacket is draped over the back of her chair. A rusty orange coloured shirt is the only other thing unobscured by the table, and red headphones are hanging around her neck. When you nod - albeit kind of dumbly; you’re taken by surprise by how deep and heavily accented her (their? you’re not sure anymore) voice is - she subtly looks you over. Her judgemental gaze reminds you of how Ruby looked at you yesterday, with how it feels like she’s looking into your soul for any sign of a threat. You try not to shift uncomfortably.

“Rus, leave ‘em be,” Thankfully, Ri comes to your rescue, “Or I’m kicking you out of that seat”

“And what, let Ruby take it? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one” As the girl - Rus, apparently - continues talking, you try to pin down what her accent is. It’s difficult, but you think it might be French. She lightens up almost immediately when Ri starts talking to her, an impish grin appearing on her face.

Ri gives her an unimpressed look, and leans behind you to gently smack her hand against Rus’ forehead. The victim just laughs and kicks her leg in return, barely missing you.

You feel someone lightly tap your foot under the table, and turn to look at Bubbles sat opposite you. She’s sat next to someone you don’t recognize and an empty chair, which she’s pointing to. “You can sit with us, if the twins are too much”

Your eyebrows raise, and you quickly look between the two you’re sat next to. “You guys are twins?” But Ri only mentioned one sister? And their accents are different - that makes no sense, unless they grew up in different places.

“No, but they might as well be, don’t’cha think?” Bubbles seems to find your disbelief funny, but clarifies nonetheless. Okay, that makes more sense.

“Yeah, I mean, we’re practically the same person” Rus pipes up again, and it seems to be another inside joke that you don’t understand - both Ri and Bubbles have to surpress a laugh at it.

“Oh! Okay, sure,” Honestly, you’d rather sit with her than the ‘twins’. Ri is nice, but you’re not sure about Rus. They seem to feed off eachother.

As you go to get up, you see Ruby and Vani return. When you wave to them, Rus cups a hand around her mouth and gestures to the now free chair beside her. “Ruby, you’re stuck with us now!”

“The _fuck_ I am-“

“Girls, please” Angel has looked over from her conversation with Fell, and looks very much like a mother chiding her kid. You get the feeling she’s used to being the peacekeeper.

Ruby just scoffs and plops down in her new seat once you’ve moved next to Bubbles, but she doesn’t actually seem all that upset. In fact, she immediately gets caught in a conversation with Rus. Meanwhile, Vani takes a seat opposite Ri.

“This is Siren, by the way” Bubbles’ voice draws your attention, and she gestures to the girl sat next to her when you look.

She’s even shorter than Ruby, by the looks of it, and is sitting with immaculate posture. Her back isn’t even touching the chair. Her hair is short, dark, and wavy, and what skin you can see is littered with even more scars than you saw on Fell. A maroon scarf is tied around her neck, and a beige cardigan covers her arms. It’s not that cold, but.. Maybe she’s not wearing it because of that, judging by the scars on her face. You decide not to think about it.

When she looks at you, you notice how her eyes are just as blue as Ruby, Bubbles, and Vani’s eyes. Despite the scars she’s obtained, she’s undeniably pretty, just like the rest of the girls surrounding you.

“She’s Rus’s actual sister,” Bubbles continues, while you try to figure out how you’re supposed to respond. “Believe it or not, she’s pretty talkative once you get her going” You really don’t believe it, but Bubbles says it with such a happy smile that you’re compelled to agree.

“Well, it’s.. Nice to meet you?” You’re not sure what else to say, so you settle for being polite. Siren nods to you in acknowledgment, but says nothing. It’s honestly a bit intimidating.

—

You talk with Bubbles for most of the dinner, but at one point you end up placating an ‘argument’ that had started between Ri and Fell.

“Trust me,” Ri is holding her hands up in an innocent gesture, but the grin on her face tells you that she’s doing this entirely for shits and giggles, “I’m Italian”

“You do _not_ pop the ‘g’ in lasagna, you _heathen-!_ ” As far as first conversations go, you’re pretty sure that your one with Fell is the most amusing.

Finding the whole situation ridiculous in the best way, you side with Fell if only to get her to stop yelling - people from other tables are starting to stare. She gestures to you almost aggressively as she looks pointedly at Ri. “See? This one, this one understands!”

When Ri gives you the same mock hurt look that she had given Bubbles yesterday, you can’t hold back your giggles. Beside you, Bubbles has her head in her hands and is staring disappointedly at her sister. She mutters something that you can’t understand, but whatever it is, it makes Ri laugh. 

—

Later on, Angel pulls a seat up next to you, so you talk to her until it’s time to leave.

“Thank you for inviting me, this was fun” You say as she links her arm with yours again. Once everything had been payed for, you’d decided to walk back with them. The houses aren’t far away now.

“It’s no problem! I’m glad you had a good time, although I’m not sure whether I should be concerned about what you think of us now” She laughs quietly, but there’s an anxious undertone to her voice. Was she referring to the thing with the lasagna? Or the fact that there’s so many different personalities in their group? Either way, you shake your head and smile up at her.

“Nah, you guys are cool” Mostly. You’re not sure about a few of them yet, but you decide not to mention that. 

“Aw, you think we’re cool, _tesoro?_ ” Ri walk- rolls, with her heelys, up on your other side, and after a quick glance at Angel links your free arm with hers. You’re now sandwiched between them.

With a short laugh at the absolutely delighted expression Angel is giving you, you go to reply, but get cut off by Fell. “ _You_ are most definitely not cool, they meant me” 

While Angel tuts good-naturedly at her and drags her closer by her arm (is it just a thing with them to link arms? You think it might be a thing), Ri just sticks her tongue out. The exchange makes you laugh, and before long you’re between the four tallest girls in the group, with Ri having thrown her arm around Rus’ shoulders so that she’ll walk beside her.

“You guys look like some kind of squad” You hear Vani behind you, and you look over your shoulder to see her and Siren trailing behind the group. To your right, Angel speaks up.

“We _are_ a squad, _hermana_ , the cool person squad”

You’re kind of sad when you reach the houses - even if they are just next door, you enjoyed spending time with them tonight. But the sun is just about to set, and it’s getting progressively colder. Bubbles also mentioned something about a dog.

Almost as reluctantly as you, Angel detatches from your arm once the others have said goodbye and entered their house, and turns to you with a smile. “Thank you for coming, I think they all enjoyed it too. We’ll have to go out together again sometime!”

You’d still like to get to know the girls better, so you respond with a nod and a grin. “Definitely! Just call me whenever. Or, y’know, knock on my door”

With a short laugh, Angel agrees, and seems to hesitate for a moment. You wait, in case she wanted to say something more, but she seems to decide against it, and begins to head to her house instead. “I might see you tomorrow, so goodbye until the next hello!”

What a nice saying - you could swear you’ve heard it somewhere before.

As the last of the sun’s light disappears under the horizon, you wave goodbye to your neighbor with a smile, and walk the short distance left to your house, fully intent on crashing on your bed as soon as humanly possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bless all of you who left comments and kudos on the first two chapters - i can’t even begin to express how much they made my day qwq <3 <3
> 
> i hope you guys like this chapter just as much! it was fun to write, now that pretty much all of the girls have been introduced!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * You spend some time (almost) alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s a couple kinda important notes at the end, if you’d be kind enough to read them ^^

You wake up the next day to three new texts on your phone. Squinting at the screen, you unlock it to read them.

 **Unknown number:** _yo._

.. Okay, you have no idea who that could be. Did Bubbles or Angel give one of the other girls your number? You type a quick _‘Who is this?’_ in reply, then move on to the next texts. They’re from the same person.

 **Unknown number:** _B GAVE ME YOUR NUMBER_

 **Unknown number:** _IT’S RI_

The all-caps messages are slightly jarring, but you huff a laugh through your nose and add her as a contact. After a moment of consideration, you type a reply: _‘Why the caps?’_

There’s no quick reply like with Bubbles, so you set your phone down and heave yourself into a sitting position. Light is only just peeking through the blinds, and you have to pick up your phone again for the time to actually register. 9.46am, okay. It’s nice not having to worry about being up by a certain time.

You give yourself a minute to wake up - which you spend staring at the wall - and then swing your legs over the side of the bed and force yourself to stand.

—

By the time you’ve gotten food and are sat at the small table under the window, you’ve got more texts.

 **Ita-Ri-an:** _BC IT ANNOYS PEOPLE_

That one makes you laugh, and you tap on the next ones. They’re from the same number as before.

 **Unknown number:** _its vani_

__

__

**Unknown number:** _angie insisted she give me ur number bc i forgot to ask yesterday_

Oh, that makes sense. You quickly add her as a contact as well- ... You misspelt what you were going to type, but you keep it like that anyways. She is now _‘vanillil’_ for the rest of eternity.

You’re about to reply, but then you get a text from Bubbles.

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _good morning!!_

 **Powerpuff Girl:** _siren & nymph say good morning too_

There’s an image attached, and you can’t help a smile when you open it. It’s of Siren and probably the fluffiest, cutest pomeranian you’ve ever seen. They’re by the window in their living room - it’s actually a very well taken picture. The morning sunlight is shining through the glass and casting a shadow behind the two, and with the way Siren is facing away from the camera - did she know it was being taken? - you can’t help but feel that it belongs on an aesthetics blog. And that dog belongs on any blog, the world needs to see its cuteness.

You respond with a _‘Good morning!’_ of your own, and within a few seconds she sends you another picture. It’s blurry, as if she was moving while taking it, and you can only just make out Siren moving out of the frame while a white blurr takes centre stage. You draw your own conclusions in guessing that the dog jumped on Bubbles. The caption under the image reads _‘nevE RMIN D’_ , which makes you laugh.

After sending replies to the various texts, you finish your food and go to get ready. It’s warm today, and you’d like to have a walk on the beach while there’s not many people around yet.

—

Meanwhile, your neighbors are arguing.

“You can’t just trust ‘em like that, _mija_ \- them actin’ all nice an’ polite the first time ya meet ‘em doesn’t mean shit”

“It does too! They’ve been nothing short of delightful the entire time we’ve known them, and I don’t want to loose the chance to make a friend just because you don’t trust them!”

“I gotta side with Ruby on this one,” Both Ruby and Bubbles look to the newcomer leaning against the doorframe, and Bubbles huffs as she sits back down on the couch, gently pushing Nymph off of her. Rus follows her into the living room, but chooses to stay standing.

“But, Roo, they’re not-“

“We barely know them, and inviting them to the city with us right off the bat’s kinda overstepping a boundary, don’cha think?” She’s giving her that look again - the one that’s all too similar to the one Bubbles’ own sister gives her, and she hates it. She knows they mean well, but for God’s sake, she’s not an idiot. “And I _know_ you were gonna invite them, don’t give me that face”

“Why do you guys never trust my judgement? I’m just as capable as you, in fact,” Bubbles points a finger to Rus, who seems completely unaffected by the accusatory gesture, “I’m _older_ than you!”

“Are you guys seriously arguing over this again? It’s only been two days, chill” Yet another voice from the doorway joins the fray. This time, Vani stays leaned against the wall. She doesn’t look impressed - more tired, if anything.

“Look, I know you’re happy to have someone around who’s not technically you or your sister, but you can’t just assume they have nothin’ better to do than hang out with you whenever you want, weekend trips to the city included,” She’s looking pointedly at Bubbles, but her attention snaps to Ruby as soon as she goes to say something, “Same as _you_ can’t go judging people before you’ve gotten to know them properly. This isn’t your shithole of a world, remember”

“Yeah, whatever” Ruby just crosses her arms and looks away, choosing to be stubborn. It’s what she does best.

“At least give them a chance! Like my sis, she was talking to them and she thought they were nice! Why can’t you?”

“Ri thinks _everyone’s_ nice until proven otherwise, Bubbles”

“Yeah, so?”

“I say get to know them,” From where she was sat near the couch with Nymph on her lap, Siren finally speaks up. She’d been incredibly quiet, listening to the others speak, until this point. Her voice is heavily accented, just like her sister’s. “There’s a few weeks until we go to the city, yes? Invite them nearer the time, if you decide they are still trustworthy”

With a triumphant grin, Bubbles jumps to her feet and looks to Rus, hands on her hips. “See! Now you gotta do it, ‘cause Siren said so” After their few years of living together, she’d come to learn that Rus had a hard time saying no to her sister - something which she had admittedly used to her advantage quite a few times.

Rus rolls her eyes, but doesn’t object - as expected. Instead, she shares a look with her sister before turning on her heels and leaving the room. The barely audible footsteps indicate that she’s going upstairs.

“Just ‘cause you got Rus wrapped ‘round your finger and gettin’ her to make an effort doesn’t mean I will,” Ruby’s attention is on Siren now, “ _I_ say we only interact with them when we gotta, an’ leave ‘em be otherwise”

When Siren doesn’t reply, Bubbles takes it apon herself to do so for her. “Suit yourself, I’m gonna take Nymph for a walk” At the mention of her name, the dog’s head perks up. She gives a small yip and wriggles free from Siren’s lap when Bubbles beckons her over, glad to have more attention, and follows as she leaves the room. None of the three girls left move from their places.

After a few minutes of tense silence, the sound of more footsteps betrays someone coming down the stairs, and out the front door. At that, Vani is the first to move, rolling her shoulders back as she turns to leave. 

“Welp, I’ll be in my room if any’a you need me”

—

It’s a beautiful day: the sun is shining down on the beach already, the ocean is calm, and you just found a perfect little secluded spot by the rockpiles.

There are quite a few big rocks where the pathway and road meets the beach, and even more by the pier a few minutes walk away from your new house. They seemed sturdy enough to climb over, so you did - mostly out of bored curiosity. The waves don’t reach this far up under the pier, and the wooden planks provide shade from the heat. And, judging by the lack of footprints, hardly anyone finds their way under here.

Mentally claiming this spot as yours, you perch yourself on one of the less damp and shell-covered rocks and lean over to pick at the few tiny shells littered on the sand. There’s a few cigarette butts scattered about as well, so maybe you were wrong in assuming no one comes here. Or maybe they just fell through the gaps in the planks above? You hear quiet shuffling in the general direction of how you got under here, and sit up straight again. Unsupervised kids aren’t exactly something you want to deal with right now, it’s too early.

Fortunately, it’s not an unsupervised kid - not literally, at least. Rus seems surprised to see you here, but masks it fairly well. As you’re in the process of getting up and offering to leave, she skillfully picks her way across the rocks and stones scattered in the sand - that would explain the lack of footprints, if she comes here often.

“Sorry, I-“

“Why’re you-“

You both speak and cut off at the same time, and you snort despite yourself. That was awkwardly funny. You try again, and Rus stays silent this time. “Sorry if this is your, uh, your place. I didn’t know” Technically, you don’t have to apologise - you’re fairly sure that she doesn’t own the small area. But you feel the need to anyways.

Rus just waves a hand dismissively, and sits herself down on a rock similar to how you did before. “Don’t, I just didn’t expect someone else to be here. You can stay, if you want” Despite what she says, you can tell she’d rather you didn’t stay. The fingers resting on her knee twitch, and she isn’t looking at you - instead directing her gaze at the water pooling between the rocks further down.

And, whatever it was that she came here to do, she’s quite clearly not doing it with you around.

You figure it would be best to leave, but.. You didn’t exactly get a good start with Rus when you first met her, maybe this is a chance to fix that? Or at the very least get her to stop looking at you as if you’re going to pull a knife on her at a moments notice.

With a quiet “Thanks” you sit back down, and return to picking at the shells. If you could get holes through these, they’d make pretty necklaces.

The click of a lighter draws your attention back to Rus. There’s a cigarette hanging from her mouth now - at least you know where those remains came from. This really must be somewhere she comes often, maybe to de-stress? You suddenly feel like an intruder.

She glances at you, then leans back against the rock she’s sat on, laying down on the rough surface and looking up at the underside of the pier. It’s quiet, until she takes the cigarette out of her mouth and speaks.

“So why did you move here?”

“Oh, uh,” You weren’t prepared for a conversation, “Mostly to help me write my book, the whole atmosphere that comes with living by the beach is really refreshing”

You see her head move in a nod, but she says nothing more. Instead, she takes another drag of the cigarette. Does that mean it’s your turn to ask something? Is that how this is going to work?

“... What about you? There’s a lot of you in just one house”

She’s hesitant to reply, and you begin to think that maybe you shouldn’t have asked, but then she shifts in a movement as similar to a shrug as you can get while lying on a rock.

“Not much choice, we didn’t want to be near a lot of people, so it was either here or in the middle of nowhere,” Smoke whisps out of her mouth as she speaks, and you have to admit, it’s close to mesmerizing. She huffs a laugh to herself, then continues, “Probably in some kind’a lodge in a forest, with the only civilization a twenty minute drive away”

That’s.. Oddly specific, and you’re not sure why Rus found that funny, but you offer a smile nonetheless. At least she seems a bit more comfortable? You’re honestly finding it difficult to tell, so you try asking another question.

“So... Do you come here often?”

There’s a pause, before she snorts and rolls onto her side, barely keeping herself from falling off the rock. There’s a shit eating grin on her face that’s all too similar to Ri’s, and she props her head up on one hand while the other plants itself on her hip. “You tryin’a flirt with me, _chéri?”_

You’re not sure what you were expecting, but it wasn’t that. Now that you think about it, that question did sound like the start of some bad flirting you’d see in a movie. That thought, coupled with Rus’ reaction, makes you laugh before you can stop yourself.

You wave your hands in front of yourself and shake your head, but your attempts to speak are futile. Whenever you look back at her you can’t help but laugh. She even quirks an eyebrow upwards, grinning wider at your reaction - it seems making other people laugh is easier for her.

“Pfft, no, no, sorry,” You manage to get yourself controlled, but are still grinning. The atmosphere seems less tense now. “But that did sound like the start of a bad pickup line or something, didn’t it?”

A quiet chuckle escapes you again, and Rus gives a short bark of a laugh before returning back to her previous position. You missed the evaluating look she gave you a split second before.

“Lil’ bit,” She shrugs again, but you can see there’s a small smile on her face. Catching sight of something to the right on her chin, you narrow your eyes slightly, trying to see it clearer. Is that a scar? You guess that makes sense - Siren has the most scars you’ve ever seen on a person, and they’re sisters. Whatever they went through, they must’ve gone through together. Would it be too intrusive to ask about it? The cigarette is snuffed out against the rock once she’s done with it, and she sits up again, drawing your attention. “But, yeah, I like this place. It’s good for when you want some quiet, so long as there’s not many people up there”

Rus gestures up to the pier, and you nod in understanding. It must get pretty noisy when kids are stomping up and down, dragging their families with them, or when groups of friends decide it’s a good spot to hang out at. It’s quiet right now, though, save for a seagull or two you can hear in the distance and the waves rolling over the sand and rocks further down the beach.

When she moves to stand, you’re tempted to follow suit. She’s good company when she’s not looking at you warily, and you’d like to talk more. You don’t know if she wants you to follow, though, so you stay seated.

Rus stretches her arms over her head, then starts making her way back over the rocks. She glances at you over her shoulder on her way out, “Stay as long as you want, I gotta head back” When you nod, shooting her a smile, she gives a lazy salute before disappearing behind the rocks.

Well, it seems you made _some_ progress, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so-
> 
> i have exams the entirety of this week, next week, and the week after. so i’m not going to have much time to write the next chapter.
> 
> i know that this is like.. the worst timing ever, since this basically just started, but i can’t really help it =“ )
> 
> i really appreciate your patience, and i hope you enjoyed the chapter <3 ~~((how much you wanna bet that there’s Dog Trouble in the next chapter))~~


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * It's hot out. An ice-cream is in order.

Eventually, you left the safe-space under the pier as well. When you clamber down from the rocks, you see a lot more people scattered about the beach than before, and head towards the pavement instead. After heaving yourself up a few more rocks, you're back on non-sandy terrain. You could've just walked a couple steps to the wooden stairs, but you refuse to admit to the fact that you didn't see them before. Stairs are for losers, anyways.

Now that the sun is completely up and shining down, it's getting a lot more like typical beach weather. An ice-cream would be nice right about now - maybe one of the kiosks further down the street will sell some? You've been meaning to check those out anyways, they always have some kind of interesting knick-knacks (that are probably intended for tourists or the like, but hey, whatever). 

Pocketing your phone after checking the time, you make your way along the path, sticking to the side closest to the beach to fully enjoy the view. It's not long before the small rental houses opposite the path you're on shift to shops and kiosks, most being adorned by colourful signs or banners to attract more people. Some even have little carts outside their open doors, displaying a variety of different trinkets for sale.

One of them, you notice, is unmistakeably an ice-cream cart. Score!

You cross the road with quick steps, a hand already delved into your pocket to fish out the spare coins you'd shoved in there this morning. Theoretically, you _should_ have enough. Just as you get close enough to read the card pinned to the side, displaying what they have in stock, you notice a pair of incredibly familiar shoes propped up on the counter. There's only one person you've met around here that wears heelys on a regular basis.

"Ri?" You round the side of the cart and peer inside, not surprised in the slightest to see your neighbor leaning back against a chair with her feet on the counter and arms behind her head. She opens one eye when she hears you, and without missing a beat she lifts her feet up and places them back on the ground, the chair's front legs following suit with a quiet 'thud'. A laid-back grin is on her face now, and she rests her chin on her hand in a similar motion to what Rus did when you first met her.

"Heya stranger, you want some ice-cream?" She gestures loosely with her free hand to the small freezers behind her, and you shake your fistful of coins with a short laugh. What are the odds that you run into her like this? "You better hurry if you do, I'm just about to go on break"

"By the looks of it, you were on break before I even got here" You're pretty sure that there's some kind of rule against having feet on counters, but she doesn't seem bothered. No, she's giving you that fake-hurt look again, which has yet to fail in making you laugh.

"I'll have you know that I take my role as ice-cream connesseur and vendor very seriously, thank you very much"

You just snort and lean back to look at the card again. Oh, looks like those new monster popsicles are in stock - you've been wanting to try one of those. "So is this what you meant by 'odd jobs'?" Having decided on your choice - and thankfully having enough money for it - you look back to Ri, who just shrugs.

"Kinda, I'm actually just covering for a guy right now. He had stuff to take care of and needed someone to watch this thing while he's out" Well, that's nice of her. Is she getting payed for it, or? "So d'you know what you want?"

"Oh, yeah! A bisicle, please" You've heard all sorts of things about monster food - there's actually been some restaurants opened that specialise in it as a kind of novelty to humans. You can't really blame them; you're pretty interested in the whole magic aspect as well.

Ri scoots the chair back a bit to lean over to the freezers, and talks to you over her shoulder as she does so. "There's a blue or a green one left, you got any preference?" You had no idea they came in different colours. Though, that does make sense - do different colours have different magic in them?

"Green?" You're soon presented with a dual-stick popsicle in green wrapping, but as you go to hand over the money Ri waves you off.

"It's on the house," She grins at your surprised expression, but you notice that as she goes to stand up she slips a few coins out of her pocket and into a box peeking out from under the counter. On the house? More like on her, really. You'll have to pay her back at some point.

"Well, thanks! That's really nice of you," You grin, taking the treat from the counter. It's pleasantly cold. "You said you're going on break now, right? Mind if I join you?"

It seems she wasn't expecting you to say that, if the split-second raise of an eyebrow is any indicator. Nevertheless, she shrugs with a grin and a quiet "Sure" as she puts up the 'Back in 5 minutes' sign up on the counter. Once she's stepped out of the confined space of the ice-cream cart, she stretches her arms over her head before turning to you. "Wanna go sit on the pier?"

You agree, and she leads you back the way you came. You decide that it's definitely some kind of habit for your taller neighbors to link arms, as she does so as soon as she's walking next to you. It's kind of cute.

"Y'know, you can break that thing in half and eat it twice - great value for money, if you ask me" Ri points to the bisicle you've been challenged to unwrap with only one hand, and reaches over to assist you in tearing the wrapping paper away.

With a quiet chuckle, you discard the wrapping in a trashcan as you pass, and awkwardly lift your linked arm to snap the green popsicle in half. "Or I could share it with the friend who bought it for me"

She actually looks taken aback. The only reason you notice the fault in her step is because you've got your arm linked with hers - she recovers quickly. Taking the offered half of the bisicle - unisicle? - she huffs a short laugh, leading you across the road towards the pier.

"So.. We're friends now?"

You give her a quizzical look. "Well, yeah? I thought so, anyways" Is being friends with someone not something she's used to? Either way, she suddenly looks absolutely delighted, though is trying hard to play it off. "What, is that a surprise to you? I would've thought you'd be making friends left and right, you're really easy to talk to"

It's impossible for you to not grin at the way she tilts her head forwards, trying to hide behind her hair - is she blushing? You didn't expect a few honest words to have this sort of reaction, but it's nothing you're opposed to.

"I mean, not really? My sister's the social one, she makes friends easier than she breathes. I'm just the loser who sits back and doesn't have a lot of friends" Ri laughs with a small shrug, and you bump your shoulder against her side as she lifts the popsicle to her mouth.

"With how nice you are? Impossible"

"You'd be surprised, _tesoro"_

 

You end up sat on the end of the pier with her, swinging your legs above the water. You've yet to try your half of the bisicle, and when you do, you can't stop a delighted giggle coming through. The taste isn't anything out of the ordinary, but the treat leaves a particular tingle on your tongue that you've never felt before. Is that the magic that it's made of?

Next to you, Ri is now laughing at your reaction. She's already halfway done with hers, and promptly bites off the rest of it as you lightly kick her leg. "Don't laugh! It's magic, what did you expect?" She just laughs more.

With a short laugh of your own, you go back to your popsicle. As the conversation lapses into companionable silence and you continue eating the cold treat, you feel a distinct calm wash over you. Is that an effect of the magic, too? You can feel the tingling feeling spread across your body, although it's still mostly concentrated on your tongue.

"Hey, check this out"

You turn to look at Ri as you finish off the last of the popsicle, just in time to see her take the stick out of her mouth and stick her tongue out at you. Whatever form of surprise that appeared on your face, it must be pretty funny, since she lasts no longer than two seconds before she's laughing at you again. You're not sure what you expected, but her tongue glowing green was definitely not it! Is that from the popsicle? If it is, does that mean that _your_ tongue is glowing right now, too? Eager to find out, you stick your tongue out and cross your eyes trying to look down at it.

You can just about see a green tint under your nose.

With all the excitement of a child that was just introduced to candy, you take out your phone and scoot closer to Ri, grinning as you open the camera app. "Holy shit, that's awesome. You gotta take a picture with me!"

She doesn't protest, so you lift the phone up to get both of you in the frame and stick your tongue out. Yeah, okay, you're definitely keeping that one. It's not every day you get to have a glowing tongue.

As you go to look at the taken picture, you feel Ri lean into your side as she looks at the picture too. The popsickle stick is back in her mouth, and she's lightly chewing on it.

The picture actually turned out okay - although you notice that the magic that had collected on your tongue isn't as bright as Ri's. Is that because she ate hers faster? Or because she has them more often? You have questions.

"Pretty cool, right?" You feel her shift and rest her chin on your shoulder, "Apparently the magic in the food reacts with the magic in your soul, it has all kinds'a different effects on humans - monsters not so much, 'cause they're more used to it or something" That is definitely pretty cool.

"Humans have magic in their souls too? I thought only monsters have magic?" You'd be down for some magic lessons, if this is true. With a grin, Ri straightens and gives a shrug.

"It's just what I heard, you'd have to ask an expert," She seems to think twice before adding "Or Vani, she knows a bit about it" Well, you know who you're texting next.

"Either way, that's pretty damn cool. I might just have to invest in some magic food in the near future" You grin, and she chuckles before laying back against the wooden planks. You stay sat up, watching the waves for a moment before a distinctive scuffling sound from behind you draws your attention.

It's.. A dog?

It's a dog!

Actually, it looks like the dog in the picture Bubbles sent you this morning. Said dog is also scampering towards you at an alarming speed.

You have all of three seconds before there's a living pom-pom barrelling into your torso, and you only just manage to keep yourself from falling into the water below. Ri has propped herself up on her elbows now, and doesn't look phased at all by the pomeranian's sudden appearance.

"Oh, hey Nymph" .. Is that the dog's name?

"Oh! You got her!"

You look up to see none other than Bubbles clambering up the rocks to get onto the pier. She has what looks like a leash with a collar attached to it in one hand, and you look down at the dog in your lap to check that no, she is not wearing a collar. She _is_ wearing an illegally cute face, though, and you don't put up much resistance in petting her.

When Bubbles reaches you, she plants her hands on her hips with a huff, looking at the tiny dog with an exhasperated expression. She then looks at Ri, and hold up the leash in her hand. "She got out again! I don't know how she does it!"

"Have you considered that the answer is 'magic'?"

"She just parkoured her way up those rocks, I'm willing to consider anything at this point"

With a surprised laugh, Ri leans over to ruffle the fur on Nymph's head. Meanwhile, you're not sure whether to be immensely confused or impressed. Did this tiny dog seriously just jump up all of those rocks? They're, like, three times bigger than her!

"Hey, I think she likes you! That's always a good sign, dogs are an excellent judge of character" You look up just as Bubbles crouches down in front of you, practically beaming at you. You can't help but smile back.

"I'm honored - did you say her name is Nymph?"

As if answering your question, the dog in your lap perks up when she hears her name. She headbutts your hand when you try to pull away, and who are you to deny her more pets? Besides, she's incredibly soft and fluffy.

"Yeah, but Ruby calls her _Nym_ -rod" Ri chimes in, and you can see her grin when you laugh again. "Which is kinda innacurate, since I'm pretty sure this is the smartest dog I've ever come across, but hey, word-play"

While Nymph makes herself comfortable in your lap, Bubbles leans back on her knees. She looks as though she's about to say something, but then Ri taps her leg and draws her attention. "Hey, _sorella_ , watch this"

She does the same thing she did to you; sticks her tongue out and then laughs at her sister's surprised squawk when she sees the glowing magic that's still on her tongue. You find yourself laughing along, too.

"Papy, that's not funny! You look like Shrek!" Bubbles' comment takes you by surprise in the best possible way - you end up laughing much harder than before. Ri is silent for about half a second before she joins you.

"I'm pretty sure Shrek doesn't- doesn't have a green tongue, Bubbles" She's rolled onto her stomach now, and grinning at her sister. Said sister has her arms crossed and what looks like a barely contained smile on her face.

"Fine, Elphaba, then!"

"She doesn't have a green tongue either!"

"How do you know? She might!"

"What does the green mean, by the way?" Both sisters look to you when you speak again, and you shift your position before continuing, "I mean, like, I've heard that colour comes into play with magic, does green mean anything?"

"Oh! You mean like the souls and stuff? Green's related to Kindness souls" As much as you appreciate Bubbles' attempt, that doesn't explain much. You knew that there were different kinds of souls, but you had no idea that traits come into play as well. She must've noticed the confused look on your face, since she gives a short laugh. "There's like.. Seven or so different souls, not including all the ones that are mixed and stuff"

".. How do you even know about all that?" Didn't Ri say that it was Vani who knew more about this stuff?

Bubbles just winks, and leans forwards to lift Nymph out of your lap and onto hers. She wriggles a bit, but otherwise seems fine with the change. "I know a guy" .. That raises more questions than answers, but she ghasps and changes the topic before you can question her.

"Oh! Also! I passed by your house when I was walking Nymph, and I noticed a motorbike parked in front! I saw it yesterday too but I thought that maybe it was someone else's, but it's yours, right?" You can practically see stars in her eyes, she looks so excited. Goddamn it, she's cute.

"Yeah, it's mine-"

"Oh my God, that's so cool! I've always wanted a proper bike, I just have a scooter right now since we can't afford the bike that I want but! Your bike is super cool! Have you ridden in around town yet? Or to the next town over? They have a cinema there!" She's talking so fast you can barely understand everything she's saying. You do manage to catch the question, though, and huff a quiet laugh.

"Not yet, and it's nothing really fancy, but it gets you from A to B - have you ever ridden a bike?" Judging by the way she's finding it difficult to sit still in her excitement, you assume the answer is 'yes'. Or, at the very least, she wants to be able to ride a motorbike.

"Yeah! I have a full license, just don't have a bike of my own! One of my friends used to have a Harley though, so he let me ride that a couple times!" Nymph eventually hops out of Bubbles' lap because of her moving so much in her seat, and instead plops down by Ri's arm. She seems content.

If Bubbles has a license, then maybe you could let her have a ride on your bike? She looks overjoyed at just the mention of having one of her own, it'd probably make her really happy to be able to ride yours for the time being.

"Well, you know the area around here better than I do, right? And you can drive, so you could give me a tour tomorrow, or whenever" You were right, she looks ecstatic. Her eyes are wide and her smile is even wider, and you're vaguely reminded of a very excitable puppy.

_"Really?!"_

"Yeah, why not?" Bubbles is on her feet with you trapped between her arms faster than you thought possible, and she's bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet, consequentially jostling you in the almost bone-crushing hug. It's nice to see your new friend so happy, though, so you decide the temporary lack of oxygen is worth it. She.. Is actually quite strong, geez.

"Oh! My God!! Thank you so much! I'll show you all the best places to go around here! Like there's this field a little way inland that Zia showed me and it's got really pretty flowers in the spring, and the next town over has that cinema I mentioned and the resort!! Have you been to the resort yet? It's super cool and fancy and we don't have enough money to actually go inside but it's just as pretty on the outside and-!"

"Bubbles, breathe" Ri finally speaks up from where she's still sprawled out on the wooden planks of the pier, lightly tapping her sister's leg. It takes a few seconds, but Bubbles releases you from the hug and shoots you an apologetic - but nevertheless overjoyed - grin. Once you've got your breath back, you smile back at her.

"It's no problem, really. Besides, I think it'll be fun with just the two of us, especially if all those places are as great as you say they are" You watch as Bubbles' expression goes from overjoyed, to thoughtful, to one of complete and utter realisation before she grins once again. You're not sure what it is that she's thought of, but she seems confident about it, judging by how she puts her hands on her hips again and squares her shoulders back.

"Just the two of us! Together! Going to special and great places!" You realise after a few seconds that she's waiting for your confirmation, so you nod with an amused smile. "So a date, then!"

... Wait, that wasn't what you meant.

Before you have the chance to get a word in, Bubbles is bending down to slip Nymph's collar back on, and urges her to her feet as she turns and sprints back down the pier. She waves to you and shouts over her shoulder as she does so, "No worries, neighbor! I have a book! It'll be the best date you've ever had!"

While Ri is being oh-so-helpful and laughing at your confusion, you process what just unfolded before your eyes before taking a deep breath through your nose. 

"Well, I guess I'm going on a date"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _guess who sat their ass down in the middle of exams to write this shit!_  
>  this guyyy
> 
>  
> 
> i actually quite like how this chapter turned out! it hit on most stuff i wanted to add in, at least ^^
> 
> as always, comments, kudos, or any sort of feedback is immensely appreciated <3 <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Time for a date! .. Kind of.

It’s a bit cooler the next day, and will surely be colder while riding the bike, so you dress accordingly. Bubbles had been texting you on and off throughout the evening, and between the two of you it was decided that the ‘date’ will commence at sometime mid-morning.

... You should probably explain to her that you don’t see it as an actual date. While you don’t doubt that she’s a generally nice person, you’ve only known her for a few days. You’ll save the explanation for when she’s face-to-face with you, though - telling someone what you need to tell her over text doesn’t really sit well with you.

You’re ready to go by the time there’s a loud, rapid knock on the door, so you pull a jacket over your shoulders and grab your keys and helmet on your way to the door. Would you need anything else? You honestly weren’t sure where Bubbles was planning on taking you.

“Heya, neighbor!” Greets you as soon as the door is open, and Bubbles is smiling cheerfully at you. Her energy is somewhat contagious - you soon find yourself smiling too. She has a sticker-covered helmet tucked under one arm, and what looks like a satchel slung over her shoulder. “Are you ready for the date?”

“Uh, yep!” What happened to telling her it’s not actually a date? “Ready as I’ll ever be, at least”

Her expression briefly falls into an analytical one, but slips back to a delighted grin so quickly that you’re not sure if it ever changed at all. She has your free hand in hers and is pulling you outside before you can begin to question it. “Great! I consulted the book and we’ve just completely the first three steps - you look really nice by the way! - so the next step is choosing a suitable destination!” Oh yeah, she mentioned something about a book yesterday, didn’t she? You vaguely remember her yelling about it as she left.

As she speaks, you resist against her tugging your arm long enough to close and lock your door before allowing her to guide you down the steps and through the gate. She points to it on her way past, “I think the lock thingy on that’s faulty, it’s really hard to slide it open. I know someone who could fix it for you, if you want!”

“Oh, really? That’d be great, actually” You’re honestly tired of jumping over it all the time to save yourself the embarrassment of not being able to open a stupid gate. Getting it fixed would be wonderful.

You hand her the keys while you try to get the gate’s lock back into place with one hand - eventually you decide to just leave it and deal with it later. It doesn’t swing open without the lock, at least. When you turn back to retrieve the keys, Bubbles isn’t there. She’s by your bike instead, familiarizing herself with where everything is.

She looks incredibly concentrated; this is the quietest you’ve seen her so far. Her helmet is balanced on the seat and the keys are hanging in the socket, and she leans this way and that as she studies the controls on your bike. Everything’s pretty standard, in your opinion, but it’s probably best to let her know where everything is before she drives - just in case.  
You notice she’s ditched her usual shorts and varsity jacket as well, instead wearing jeans, a lilac hoodie and a blue scarf. It’ll be cold on the bike, but.. You don’t think it’ll be _that_ cold. She might be a little over prepared.

“So, where are we going?” Her eyes snap up to meet yours, and a lopsided grin once again finds its way onto her face. She tugs the hair ties out as she rounds the bike, slipping them onto her wrist and then shaking her hands in her hair to get it back to how it was before she tied it up. It’s very.. poofy.

“Well! You wanted to see the town and the area around it, so we’re going for a small tour! I also have something else planned that I’m not going to tell you about yet; the book said it’s good to have some surprises” She seems to have a lot of faith in this book of hers - but the advice seems pretty solid, so long as she isn’t planning anything too drastic. You’re also once again reminded that she still thinks of this as a date, and a small twinge of guilt worms its way into your conscience.

You go to tell her, but Bubbles cuts you off as she finishes putting her helmet on. “So are you ready? We’re wastin’ daylight!” With what looks like an expertly practiced maneuver, she swings her leg over the seat while simultaneously pushing the bike off its stand. Twisting to look over her shoulder at you, she pats the pillion seat behind her.

You can’t bring yourself to tell her when she looks so excited - you wager it’d feel like kicking a puppy. You can.. You can just tell her later, right? Instead of giving yourself time to debate, you get your helmet on and seat yourself on the back of the motorbike, wrapping your arms around her torso. “Yeah, uh, let’s go”

The engine roars to life, and Bubbles gives it a few seconds to warm up before she pulls out into the road. It’s quiet today, but you see a few more cars as you near the town. Seems she’s taking you through here first.

“Have you been to the gem shop yet? Angel works there!” She has to yell to be heard over the engine, but briefly gestures to the shop as the bike slows. You’d seen it on your way to the restaurant a few days ago.

“I haven’t been in there yet!”

“You should, they’re all super pretty!”

 

The ride through town continues in a similar manner: Bubbles slows and points out any places of interest to you, then continues through the winding roads until the sarrounding buildings shift to open fields. You can see another town in the distance, but the sights around you catch your eye more.

Flowers are blooming in almost every field, displaying an array of colours for the whole world to see. They stretch for miles on either side of the road, only interrupted by clusters of bushes and trees. You never really got to appreciate how picturesque it looks when you first arrived, having been more focused on driving - but now, as a passenger, you find yourself smiling contentedly as you take in the sight.

While you’re busy appreciating the view, Bubbles turns onto a wider and straighter road that’s practically deserted. And promptly _books it._

The sudden lurch forwards almost sends you off the back of the bike, and you drastically tighten your hold on your neighbor with a start. “Bubbles what the hell?!” Your shout is met only with gleeful laughter.

There’s now a much stronger wind battering against you as she continues to speed up, but it’s bearable. You end up borrowing her hoodie’s pockets to shield your hands, though; she doesn’t seem to mind. You have to admit, it’s been a while since you’ve driven so fast on this bike - the small rush of adrenaline that comes with it is something you didn’t realise you missed.  
Bubbles seems to like it too, as you catch her grinning briefly over her shoulder at you. Honestly, you wouldn’t be surprised if she’s an adrenaline junkie - she strikes you as the type.

You can’t focus on any of the fields or flowers now, they all just shoot by in a blur of colour. It’s not until they stop looking like abstract art pieces that you realise Bubbles has slowed down again. She turns off into a small dirt road parallel to one of the flower fields, and stops near where the bushes part to allow entrance to the open space. Taking that as your cue to get off, you release your hold on her and slip your hands out of her pockets, unclipping your helmet as you step off the bike. As soon as the engine is shut off, Bubbles follows suit.

“Okay! So! This is the field that Zia showed me! Which also doubles as the surprise location for today!” She’s quick to get the bike on its stand and take her helmet off, carrying it in one hand while you stash yours under the seat. Your hand is then seized and pulled towards the gap in the bushes. “It’s calm and pretty, which I thought you might like, and makes a change from just watching the beach all day”

You’re still not sure who ‘Zia’ is, but the fact that Bubbles put some thought into this makes you smile. “Sounds great - it’s definitely pretty” As you fall into step beside her, you take notice of a particular cluster of trees near the edge of the field, not too far away. The grass gives way there to plain dirt and stones and twisted roots, but the ground dips and you can’t see whatever’s in the middle. Nevertheless, Bubbles leads you closer to the edge of the small area, letting go of your hand and shrugging the satchel off her shoulder just under the shade of one of the trees.

Not entirely sure what she’s doing, you opt to look around, and find that there’s a small pond where the ground dips between the trees. Roots and stones protrude from the water, and you step on one nearest to the edge to look over. It reminds you of some kind of fantasy novel setting - it just needs a few fireflies or faries.

“Do you like it?”

Bubbles is still behind you, and you turn only to see her sat cross-legged on a picnic blanket that must’ve come from her bag. Her helmet and a tub of sandwiches are also at her side. Oh, now you get it - there’s that sliver of guilt again.

“Oh- yeah! It’s really nice, kinda like a mini forest” You hop off the tree root and make your way back to her, sitting yourself down on the blanket in the shade while she stays on the side that the sun hits. She smiles proudly at your opinion.

“I’m glad! Also, I uhh- wasn’t sure what kind of food you’d want? I was going to make something myself, but Ri said that ‘typical picnic food’ would be the safest bet, so I brought sandwiches!” The small tub is held out to you as she speaks, and you huff a laugh before taking one of them.

“Don’t worry, sandwiches are fine"

The conversation lapses into silence after that, and you go back to your earlier thoughts while you eat. Everything she's done so far is pretty sweet, but you really need to tell her that you're not up for an actual date. Is it too late for that now? Even if it is, she probably wouldn't appreciate the dishonesty..

You look over at her, only to see her picking flowers one by one and weaving them into a chain. By the look of it, she's had quite a bit of practice with it. It seems she's noticed you, as well, as she repeatedly glances sideways at you and her hands fumble when she realises you're watching. Eventually, she leaves the half-done flower chain in her lap and turns to face you.

"Um, neighbor?" There's only an awkward, almost forced smile on her face now, and the tone of her voice puts you on edge. Did you do something wrong? She sounds upset, or maybe even nervous.

".. Yeah?"

"I uh, I know this isn't actually a date," Well, that's slightly better news than you were expecting, "I should've asked you properly before rushing into it, Ri says I have a habit of doing that," Bubbles smiles a little more genuinely when you huff a laugh, and shifts in her seat. You notice that she waves her hands around a lot when she talks. "You don't need to go along with the whole 'date' thing just to spare my feelings, I know you don't actually want this to be a proper date"

She really picked up on all that, huh? Granted, you're sure the guilt of not being honest with her seeped into your expressions a couple times, but you didn't think you were obvious about it. It seems she's more observant than you first took her for. Nevertheless, you're relieved that you don't need to awkwardly explain anything. "Well, you're not wrong - how about we just make this a friend hangout instead?"

"Yeah! Friend hangouts are fun," She seems a lot happier now, too. After a moment, though, she quirks an eyebrow and tilts her head as if remembering something, "Although.. Most of the ones I used to have with my friend ended in sparring"

"... Should I be concerned?" You've never heard of a casual hangout ending in that. Despite the clear confusion on your face, Bubbles laughs.

"Nah! We just used to go to the same self defence classes, is all, that's how I met him! We started hanging out after I kicked him in the gut one time" She seems fond of the memory, but you're still mildly concerned. Still, it kind of makes sense - you're not surprised that Bubbles has experience in fighting, you'd be even less surprised if she came and told you she knows some kind of martial art. Her energy combined with the unexpected strength you've been briefly subjected to would make for one hell of a black-belt in something or other.

Deciding that your concern is unecessary, you smile. "Well, that's one way to make a friend. If I ever meet him, should I try to punch him?" Your small joke earns you a snort of laughter, but she shakes her head and waves her hands in front of her in an exaggerated 'no'.

"Not if you don't want to spar! He takes those very seriously!"

 

You find that after that, the friend hangout is very enjoyable. Bubbles eventually finished her flowercrown and put it on your head, so you'd tried to make one in return for her while she stood and showed you some of the basic combat moves she'd practice with her friend. She seemed very excited to show you, and you had to admit- she's got the strong fighting stance and solid punches down almost flawlessly.

Eventually, you'd both decided to head back, so now you're on the bike again and nearing the edge of the town. You couldn't keep your flowercrown, unfortunately, lest it get crushed by your helmet, so you'd left it on one of the tree roots by the pond.  
As the bike slows to a stop in front of your house, you straighten in your seat and take a moment to stretch before you get off again. Like before, Bubbles follows after you once she's shut the engine off and handed you the keys. 

"That was fun! We should do it again sometime!" She beams at you with that lopsided grin of hers as she unclips her helmet, and you smile back just as easily as before. She really has an air about her that just encourages people to smile, but you find that you don't mind it.

"Definitely, maybe I can take you somewhere next time" Bubbles seems delighted at your suggestion. She tucks her helmet under one arm again, but not before slinging her free arm around you in a quick side hug. The movement catches you a bit off guard, but it's nothing unwelcome - it's been a while since someone's hugged you, honestly.

"That sounds great! And thank you for letting me drive, your bike's really cool!"

"It's- really nothing fancy, but no problem, I'm glad you had fun"

Bubbles lets you go after a moment, slowly but surely inching her way backwards towards her house. After a moment or so she looks like she's not sure how to end the conversation, so you snicker quietly and give her a wave. "I'll see you later, Bubbles, I gotta go catch up on whatever the hell my writing schedule's become"

"Oh! Right, yes, you do that! Good luck and, um- good bye!" She laughs at her own awkwardness, before waving back to you and turning on her heel to walk the rest of the way normally.

You're about to turn and head back to your house as well, but.. After a few moments of consideration, you stop and call out to her again. "Hey, Bubbles?"

She pauses in opening her gate, looking up at you with a natural curiosity, especially when you smile at her.

"Thanks"

Her grin is the only response you need, and you wave one last time before walking the rest of the way to your gate. It's still unlocked, so you just swing it open and loosely close it behind you - the faulty lock isn't something you can be bothered to fight with right now. As soon as you're inside and have sat yourself down at your desk, you take a breath as you open up your laptop. Time to get to work while the sun's still up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy, sorry this is so late - exam stress and lack of time kinda caught me out
> 
> but here we go! i hope the wait is kinda worth it, at least - i tried my best =" D
> 
> as always, any comments, kudos, or other forms of feedback are extremely appreciated; they're what keeps me writing <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Time for breakfast!

You’re next awoken by a dull _‘thunk’_ from the ceiling. At first, you just stay where you are, tired mind scrambling to possibly figure out what that could’ve been or if you just imagined it. Silence stretches on long enough for you to deem the noise as something you imagined, so you go to close your eyes again.

And then there’s another _‘thunk’_ , louder now, and a muffled bark.

You can’t exactly ignore that or pass it off as your imagination now, so you sit up and get out of bed. Whatever’s up there, you suspect a dog might be involved. And the only dog you’ve seen nearby with the possibility of getting onto a roof is Nymph, so by extension you suspect your neighbors might be involved.

By the time you’re outside - and still in your pajamas, having forgone the effort of getting dressed - there’s been no other suspicious noises, but you’re pretty sure you just saw something move on the roof. Should you… Try and find a ladder, or..?  
Before you’re given a chance to figure out what to do, something scuffles on the roof and comes scampering and clattering into view. Something small, white and fluffy.

Said small, white and fluffy thing promptly jumps off the edge of the roof, barreling directly into your abdomen and effectively bowling you over. Your tired self helpfully shouts something incomprehensible in response to the impact.  
You managed to avoid hitting your head too harshly, but your lower back and shoulder blades took the majority of the hit. They’re numb for all of one second before a small shock of pain sets in.

Well, at least you cushioned the dog’s fall.

“Are you alright?” You can only just understand what the person’s saying, being disorientated by the fall and what the hell this situation even is. Where is the person, anyways? Your vision is currently obscured by a dog.

With a groan, you prop yourself up on your elbows and gently nudge Nymph off you, although she immediately runs back to your side and starts licking your cheek. And then your hand, when you try to push her face away. Somewhere above you there’s creaking, and you look up to see Siren perched on the edge of your roof where Nymph had jumped off. She looks equal parts concerned and amused, from what you can see.

“Uhh… Gyeh- Dog?” Truly, you’re the epitome of speech in the morning.

You’re not quite sure what her reaction was, Nymph is persistent in occupying your attention as she headbutts and licks your hand. You do manage to sit up and pet her properly though, and briefly wonder how she got up on the roof in the first place. Especially this early, geez, the sun isn't even up yet.

When you next look up, Siren has stood and is in the process of walking to a corner of the roof. “Should I uh.. Try ‘n find a ladder or something? How’d you get up there?” She doesn’t reply.

Instead, she crouches and latches onto a drainpipe, swinging her legs over the edge and gracefully making her way down. Evidently, she doesn’t need your help. As soon as she’s landed on the ground with barely a noise, she walks over to you and extends a hand.

You reach up your own thinking that she’s offering to help you, but instead she leans down and picks up Nymph. Oh, okay. At least you’re not being attacked by dog slobber and being demanded to use your hands for petting now, so you can get up yourself.

“You didn’t answer me; are you alright?” Siren repeats herself once you’re on your feet again, and you roll your shoulders back with a small wince.

“I uh- Yeah, yeah I’ll be fine,” You realise that this is the first time you’ve actually heard her speak. Her voice is quiet and heavily accented like Rus’, but holds an underlying commanding lilt to it that you can’t help but be drawn to.

She nods, and adjusts her grip on Nymph when she starts to wriggle in your neighbor’s hold. The silence is quickly becoming awkward, so you clear your throat. “Uh.. How did Nymph get on the roof?”

“She climbed. Or maybe jumped, I don’t know. She was looking for her ball” To prove her point, Siren pulls a tennis ball out of her cardigan’s pocket and holds it up for you to see. Instead of the more concealing clothes she was wearing when you first met her at the restaurant, she's now only in a big shirt and a pair of shorts, along with her cardigan. You try not to stare at the various scars and bruises littering her legs.

“How did… How did the ball get up there?”

“Fell threw it yesterday while you were out. I don’t think she was aiming for your roof, though”

“.. Oh”

Silence once again takes over the conversation. You were half expecting Siren to leave the first chance she got, but she stays where she is, looking increasingly awkward and trying hard not to show her discomfort. You're not sure if that's because of her exposed skin or something else, but she definitely looks uncomfortable.

While you struggle to think of something to say or do, you catch her glance somewhat nervously towards the sidewalk and back to you, then to the sidewalk and finally settling on Nymph. Is she.. Scared to walk home? She seemed to have no trouble chasing after Nymph by herself, and it’s too early for most people to be awake.

“Do you.. Wanna come inside? It’s pretty early, you can have breakfast or something with me if you haven’t eaten yet” You’re not entirely sure, but she almost looks greatful when she next looks up at you. In response, you offer a tired smile.

When she nods, you lead her back inside and to the kitchen. There’s no point trying to sleep again, anyways, especially now that you have a guest. While you crouch to see what you have in the fridge, you just barely hear Siren take a seat at the small table behind you. Judging from the lack of pawpad-against-wood noises, she still has Nymph in her lap.

“Uhh.. Do you have any preference? There’s like.. I have some cereal somewhere, or there’s toast, or- I could probably make pancakes, actually” That sounds nice, it’s been a while since you’ve had pancakes. As you stand up you turn to look at your guest, but her eyebrows are furrowed when she meets your gaze.

“It’s… Not my place to decide”

At that, you huff a quiet laugh and lean against the counter, pushing the fridge shut with your leg. “I mean, you’re a guest, you have some input”

She shifts in her seat, holding Nymph - who now has the tennis ball in her mouth - closer to her. “… Pancakes would be nice”

"Pancakes it is!"

 

You're quick to set about gathering the ingredients you need, giving yourself a mental pat on the back for going food shopping a few days ago. By the time you're mixing the batter, you take notice of Siren peering over your shoulder. She makes you jump a bit - you hadn't heard or seen her get up.  
Neither of you speak, but you shift to the side slightly to let her see. You're not sure what's so interesting about pancake batter, though.

"You know how to cook other things?"

With a start, you pause and look at her. "Well, yeah, I live on my own, I gotta know how to feed myself decently" Your mouth twitches into a smile when you see the clearly interested look on her face, even though she's quick to cover it with a nod and looking back to the bowl. Just as you're about to go back to mixing, she taps a finger on the countertop and looks at you again.

"Could you teach me? The others are always too busy" At that, you smile again. You had a feeling that was coming.

"I don't see why not - how 'bout we start with pancakes? I'll teach you how to flip them from the frying pan"

\--

You discover that Siren is a quick and eager learner, but her ways of interpreting simple instructions are.. Somewhat destructive, yet somehow turn out okay. You had no idea it was possible to make pancakes partially burst, but they ended up looking like those fluffy pancakes you thought only existed in movies.

She also looks very pleased with herself at having successfully cooked most of the pancakes by herself, even if a few of the early ones did get slightly charred. Still, though, she insisted on doing them herself once she watched you and decided how long to leave them on either side.  
Nymph had been zig-zagging about your feet for most of the time, tripping you up on more than one occasion as she tossed the ball by herself and persistently scampered after it. You found that you weren't surprised in the slightest that Siren managed to avoid the small dog every time. If she can climb down (and up, apparently) the side of a house with all the grace of a dancer, dodging a tiny dog must be pretty easy.

"So how was that for a first lesson? You can make pancakes now" You grin and point to the small stack on a separate plate with your fork, before proceeding to stab one of your own and bring it to your mouth. You had also talked her through the ingredients necessary, having assumed she wasn't entirely sure. You probably assumed correctly.

"You need to have breakfast next door with us, so I can repay you. I think my sister will also be pleased, she likes pancakes" You're glad to see Siren smile back at you, feeling a sense of accomplishment at having taught her. There's something that's been bugging you, though, that you hadn't been sure how to bring up until now.

"So.. Does your sister not know how to cook anything either? Or bake?" A twinge of regret tugs down your previous grin when you see her instantly lose that small confidence she had built.

"No, neither of us do. We never had chance to learn" Siren sounds almost.. Angry at herself as she tells you this. It doesn't sit well with you. She looks away from you and occupies herself with tearing bits of pancake apart with her fork before eating them.

"Well.. You have chance now, I could teach both of you what I know, and there's books and stuff with guides to make pretty much anything," You try to bring back some of the positivity, leaning back in your chair and patting your lap to encourage Nymph to jump up. She's been sat at your feet for a while, occasionally nudging you in search of attention. "Are there cook books at your house?"

"Angel uses them, but-"

"They're a great place to start! I'll still teach you, but following instructions from a book is generally pretty easy" Siren seems hesitant to agree, which doesn't make sense to you. She's the one who asked about learning to cook, after all. "Why don't you find something out of a book you wanna try, and we can do it together?"

She seems happier at that suggestion, and nods. While you're busy adjusting Nymph in your lap, Siren finishes her food and looks out the window. It's light out now, but still early.

And then there's a knock at the door - frantic and loud.

You share a look with your guest before you urge Nymph to get off, standing and jogging to the front door. Quiet footsteps trail after you, and you catch sight of Siren just out of the corner of your eye when you open the door.

"Oh my God, you're okay!" For a second, you think Bubbles is talking to you, but then she lunges past you and crashes directly into Siren, sending them both toppling to the floor. Slowly, you turn your head to Rus, who's opted to stay by the door. She looks incredibly relieved too, but you only catch a climpse of her face before she bends down to stop Nymph from running out.

"Get off, Bubbles" You look back to your two neighbors currently sprawled in a tangle of limbs on the floor. Siren is trying to push her friend off, but Bubbles isn't helping much.

"Do you know how worried I was when I woke up and you weren't in the room? Or how worried _we_ were when you weren't anywhere in the house? I know you can handle yourself but you need to tell us these things-!"

"I'm fine, get off"

You're about to offer to help, but they manage to de-tangle themselves and stand up on their own, so you glance to Rus again. "Sorry, uh, she and Nymph were on my roof, so I invited her for breakfast" Now that you say it out loud, it sounds kind of weird. Rus seems to think so too, as she gives you an almost incredulous look. That look is then directed to her sister.

_"Pourquoi étais-tu sur le toit?"_ .... You have no idea what the fuck she just said, apart from recognising it to be French.

Siren looks up at her sister's voice, and points to the dog in her arms, helpfully providing her with the answer of _"Chien"_. You're pretty sure that means 'dog'.

"Okay, but why was Nymph on the roof? _How_ was Nymph on the roof?" While she speaks, Bubbles glances around your small hallway before leaning back to look through the doorway of the kitchen. "Did you guys make pancakes? They smell nice"

"If I figure out how, I'll tell you," You notice Siren had been slowly inching her way closer to the door, but stops at the mention of the pancakes. That small ounce of confidence you got only a glimpse of returns in the form of a proud grin on her face, and she plants her hands on her hips in a way that makes her look like Bubbles for a second. "I made most, they taught me"

"Shouldn't it be 'most of them'?"

_"Va te faire foutre_ , Rus"

You're gonna have to teach yourself French, and possibly any other languages your neighbors speak, if this keeps up. Nevertheless, you smile and shrug. "Yeah, Siren made most of them, I just showed her how" Bubbles seems absolutely delighted when she looks back at you, and you notice that she's in what appear to be her pijamas too, sporting a plain tank top and more traditional pijama bottoms that have stars all over them. You're willing to bet she ran straight here with Rus once she realised Siren was missing.

"That's awesome! I've been meaning to help teach her and Fell too, but between work and other stuff I don't usually have time for a proper lesson" Oh yeah, Siren mentioned that the others were always too busy to teach her properly. You wring your hands behind your back, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet with a smile.

"I've offered to help, I'm not all that busy most days. You're gonna find a cook book and we're gonna make something together at some point, right?" By the end of your sentence you're focused more on Siren, but you do see Bubbles raise an eyebrow at you.

"A book? But she can't-" Siren swiftly kicks her ankle, and she's quick to ammend what she said. "I mean! That's great!"

While their actions are suspicious, you don't get chance to question them as Rus steps into view and passes Nymph over to Bubbles. Both her and Siren are then herded towards the door by the tallest of the three. "That _is_ great, so we're gonna go do that now and _not_ overstay our welcome. See ya, neighbor" She gives you a fairwell salute as she passes, which you return with a short laugh.

"It's no problem, really! You guys are free to stay as long as you want" Like a good host, you follow them the few steps to the door and hold it open. "Having some company is fun, it makes a nice change"

"Why don't you come to ours later, then? There's lots of company there!" Even though she's still carrying Nymph, Bubbles gives you a quick side-hug before she gets shoo-ed completely out the door. She resists just long enough to see you nod, then grins and bounds down the small steps. "Awesome! Bye for now, then, neighbor!"

Siren only waves to you as she passes, but you didn't really expect anything else from your quietest neighbor. You wave back to her and her sister as they both exit.

Once they've gone and the door has closed, you go back to the kitchen to finish off the few pancakes that got left - there's no point in wasting them. You now also have some kind of plan for later today, so you can probably get some writing in before you go next door. Or maybe you could walk into town? You've yet to visit the crystals shop Bubbles said Angel works in, and you're curious as to what variety of gems they have.  
You can decide what to do in the meantime later, first you're gonna eat some pancakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy another late one i'm so sorry
> 
> but!! it's here and i think it turned out okay =) thank you all for being patient and thank you for the comments!! they really do motivate me so much, i read and appreciate every single one, even if i don't always reply <3 <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Gates and gravy. That's probably not the combination you were expecting.

By the time you deem it acceptable to go to your neighbor's house, the beach outside is bustling with activity, especially compared to how scarcely populated it's been for the last few days. You suppose that's to be expected, though, given the fact that it's much hotter today.

You weren't expecting to see Fell knelt at your faulty gate as soon as you step outside, though.

A strip of fabric with loops occupied by various small tools is rolled out by her feet, and she's doing something to the lock on your gate - you can't quite see, as her back is turned to you. Is this what Bubbles meant by knowing someone who could fix it for you? You hadn't taken Fell for the type to know her way around tools.

You're half tempted to just leave her to it - her tongue is stuck out slightly in concentration, you can just about see her face if you lean over-exaggeratedly to the side - but you kind of need to use that gate to get out if you want to go to your neighbor's house like you said you would. So, you take a moment to mentally prepare yourself and walk down the two steps off your porch louder than usual to avoid having to awkwardly announce your presence with words. It works; as soon as she hears you, Fell looks over her shoulder at you with a look that makes you instantly regret interrupting her work. She looks partly offended at having to stop whatever she was doing.

You can't quite take it back now, though, so you try for a smile and a wave. When she just nods as an acknowledgement and turns back around, you clear your throat and step closer, trying to see what she's fiddling with. By the looks of it, she's tampering with the sliding lock, but you ask anyways.

"What, uh.. What'cha doing?" You watch as her hands fall to her sides and she leans back, only to use one hand to gesture to the lock and then to the hinges at the side of the gate.

"Your lock is faulty, like Bubbles said, but the hinges have rusted and come loose from neglect and now the gate hangs lower than it should, so it scrapes the floor and makes it even more difficult to close," Fell gives you a confident look when you bend down next to her to see what she's talking about, and slides one of the smaller screwdrivers out of the fabric strip. "So I'm fixing them"

"Uh, thank you! That's.. That's really nice of you, actually, thanks" This is much easier than calling someone out to come look at it, provided that she's as confident in her ability to fix it as she sounds. Probably cheaper, too- Oh, wait, should you pay her? You should probably pay her.

You're about to ask how much she wants for fixing it for you, but a 'tch' and scrape of the screwdriver cuts you off. The rust on the hinges seems to be making it difficult for her to do what she needs to, but she's definitely going strongly at it. "Don't think anything of it. Bubbles insisted, and I owe her"

Oh. "Well, it's.. Nice of you either way. How much do you want for it?"

There's a pause, and Fell stops trying to get past the rust to side glance (side glare?) at you instead. "... How much what?"

"Money, to pay you and stuff. That's how this works, right?"

Besides, you'd feel kind of bad having her do this and not repaying her at all. Though apparently she has other ideas, as she thinks it over for a second while staring at the rusty hinges before tapping them with the screwdriver. "If I can't unscrew these and move them to the correct place, they will need to be replaced, so will the lock. Use the money for that instead and then I can fix them"

You're genuinely surprised, and it seems to show on your face if the way Fell is avoiding looking at you is anything to go by. She really doesn't want anything? You're not about to complain, but.. It's not exactly common for someone to do this and not ask for any payment in return. At least in your experience. The situation kind of reminds you of Ri and Angel, actually - they'd both done (or offered to do) something for you without asking for anything back.

The fact that they look so similar isn't helping you to ignore that comparison.

"Well, if you're sure. Can I get you something else while you're out here, then? Like.. A glass of water or something?"

"No, I'll be going to see Angel after I'm done, there's no need to give me anything." She's really adamant about not taking anything from you, huh? Still, you're not about to insist on anything, if it's really what she wants.

You stand up straight again instead as she returns to battling with the rusted screws on the hinges, and you're about to bid her good bye, but then remember that you can't really leave without interrupting her again. Maybe you could... Jump the gate again? Or not, you don't want to risk kicking her in the face.

Your quiet "Um.." draws Fell's attention again, and with a glance at you and then the gate, she sighs and gets up. With a sheepish smile, you utter a quiet "Sorry, thanks", and go to exit, but before you can move she picks you up by hooking her arms around your torso and under your legs in a surprisingly careful hold, takes a few steps closer to the gate, and dumps you over the other side. You're lucky you didn't fall as soon as she let go.

"Thank- Um, thank you?" You right yourself and watch as she kneels back down to continue working, and you can't help a quiet laugh. "Y'know, for all those 'bad girl' vibes you give out, you're pretty bad at being bad"

Taking her choked cough/squawk-of-indignation-you're-not-quite-sure as your cue to leave, you give a cheeky grin and a short wave as you turn and start the short walk next door. Maybe you'll go see Angel later too, if she's still at her job by that time - past experiences you've had with jobs like that and her generally social nature lead you to believe that it'd be nice to give her some company. So long as you don't get in the way, it should be fine.

 

You let yourself in with the gate at your neighbor's house, closing it again behind you, but wait after knocking on the door. How many of them are home this time?

When the door is opened - by Vani this time, you smile at her as she lets you in - a very distinct smell of... gravy? Attacks your senses. Is... Yeah, that's definitely gravy. Mouth-wateringly strong gravy.

Vani seems to know what the change in your expression means, and gestures with a tilt of her head towards the kitchen. She's grinning, and looks like she's trying very hard not to laugh at what apparently transpired before you got here. "Ruby's fault the general downstairs area smells like a Christmas dinner exploded" Ah, of course. That doesn't help at all, other than you now know who the culprit is.

With an almost incredulous raise of an eyebrow, you decide to chance heading into the kitchen to see what exactly just happened. You can hear Vani's footsteps and quiet chuckling behind you, and there seems to be muffled shouts coming from upstairs, but you're now more focused on the fact that there's an entire jug meant for coffee that's been filled with gravy instead. Rus is leant against the counter nearby, the grin on her face similar to Vani's as she watches Ruby down whatever was in the bowl she's holding.

Neither of them notice you until Vani sidesteps you and re-enters the kitchen, announcing that "We got company, guys" before promptly sitting up on the counter, pivoting and laying down with her hands behind her head. She's barely small enough to fit, but she manages. You huff a short laugh, before an arm is swung over your shoulders and you're dragged further into the kitchen. Almost stumbling from the sudden movement, you crane your neck up to see Ri. She guides you to the small table in the middle of the room that Ruby's sat at, and takes a seat next to you once you're (somewhat reluctantly) sat down. You're still pretty sure Ruby doesn't like you all that much, but your curiosity will not allow the situation to go unquestioned.

You just don't really know where to start. The wary and unwelcome looks you're getting from Rus and Ruby, respectively, aren't exactly helping.  
Ri seems to pick up on at least one of those looks, since you hear a dull 'thud' under the table, and Ruby flinches in her seat. She then briefly rolls her eyes and gets up to go back to the gravyjug. The silence is.. Getting a little too awkward for your tastes now, so you chance speaking up.

"Why the gravy?" You're not sure which of the girls it was, but someone snorted at your question.

"Ri made some'a those instant noodle things for me, but none of us like the flavour packet that came with it," With a shrug, Ruby stops for a moment before abandoning the bowl and just taking the entire jug. She turns back and for the first time her grin is directed at you. "So, y'know, gravy was the obvious solution"

It's the kind of answer you were expecting, but the majority of your logical thought decided that no, it couldn't possibly be something like that. And yet here we are. Her answer startles a laugh out of you, and you watch as she ups the jug and downs a good quarter of it's contents. You're both mildly disgusted and impressed.

"I mean, obviously - but why so _much?"_

_"Mi hermana_ ain't here an' she's basically all my impulse control"

That seems to be the kicker - you can now distinctly hear Vani laughing behind you, Ri has leant her elbows on the table and you can see her failing miserably at not joining in, and even Rus has stopped watching your movements to snort at her housemate's less than ideal eating habits. "You know she's gonna kick your ass into next week when she gets back, right?"

Considering your earlier run ins with Fell, you don't doubt this in the slightest - you've found she can be loud and somewhat intimidating -, but Ruby just puts on a solemn expression, holding the gravyjug to her chest as if its a badge of honor. "That's a sacrifice I'm willin' to make" 

"I think the only sacrifice here is our gravy supply" Ri comments from beside you, "You really gonna drink that whole thing?"

"You really think I wont?" Is Ruby's reply, and honestly, you're kind of interested to see if she can down the whole thing. Something seems to click in her mind when she glances over at Vani, and her grin turns to something just slightly short of manic. "Does this count for the competition, _clásica?"_

You have no idea what 'the competition' is, but you twist in your seat only to see that Vani is putting on a show of thinking it over. She's sat up now, with her chin in one hand and the other balancing herself on the counter. Eventually, she responds with a lopsided grin and a "Nah"

"Aw, c'mon, gravy is _technically_ a condiment"

"If you wanna add another one to the list, you gotta ask Bubbles and Siren too. Unanimous vote 'n all that jazz"

You're no longer sure if you want to know what their competition is.

While listening to the conversation, you fail to notice Rus leave the room. You also fail to notice the distinct sound of rapid footsteps coming down the stairs until the source of them skids into the kitchen with Nymph at her heels. When she sees you, Bubbles is quick to bound over and take a seat on the table next to you, effectively sandwiching you between herself and her sister. "Heya, neighbor! Sorry, I didn't hear you come in!" She takes one look at the gravyjug, and Vani once again laying on the counter, and gives you a jokingly sympathetic look, "Have they been torturing you long?"

"C'mon _mija_ , we ain't that bad-"

"Ruby, you have a coffe jug full of gravy. You are most _definitely_ that bad"

You laugh and shake your head, interrupting the brief conversation, "Nah, don't worry - I think I've yet to find one of you guys that isn't good company in one way or another, terrible eating habits aside" Your glance to Ruby is brief, and you miss the look she gives you through narrowed eyes- eye? She still has her hair covering the other one, and you can't help but wonder why. Siren enters shortly after with her sister in tow, and is quick to bend down and pick Nymph up before she can paw at your legs. 

"We're playing videogames upstairs, if you want to join" Bubbles offers, smiling at you as she absently swings her legs back and forth. It's been a while since you've played any kind of videogame, but it couldn't do any harm to give them a try. Although, if that's why there was shouting up there earlier, you have some concerns as to how competitive those two may get. Siren doesn't strike you as the type to be competitive, but Bubbles.. Yeah, you get the feeling she won't go easy on you. Here's to hoping, though.

"Sure, sounds like fun!"

Judging by the grin on Bubbles' face, your guess of her being overcompetitive seems to have been right. Glancing over at Siren, though- you may have just signed your death warrant. That is the face of someone who can and will annihilate you in videogame territory. Oh boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the updating schedule has gone to shit and this thing only has eight chapters, i'm so sorry ="D
> 
> but!! i did it!! i hope you like it!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Video games, and a tiny feathery overlord

"Oh for fuck's sake!" This is the second time you've lost, and there's only one round left to go.

After being partly dragged, partly carried (Bubbles seems to forget that you have the ability to walk when she's excited) upstairs, you'd been allowed to choose what game the three of you play. There was a limited selection, but you'd chosen Mario Kart in the hopes that you'd actually stand a chance at winning.

You were painfully mistaken.

"No need to yell," You direct your halfhearted glare to Siren, sat to your left with her legs crossed and the controller in her lap. She looks very pleased with herself, which is understandable considering she just beat you for the second time in a row. "Getting angry makes you less possible to win"

"I think you mean less likely, and-"

"Yes, that"

"And easy for you to say, you're better than me at this and I'm the one who taught you to play!" Bubbles chimes in from your right, perched on the spinny chair by the desk.

They don't exactly have a console that you were expecting - in fact, they don't really have one at all. But in a feat of engineering you didn't know was possible, Bubbles has managed to rig her computer to be able to play various videgames - she told you that Vani helped her set it up a while ago, but you're still a bit dumbfounded by it. 

Nevertheless, it works, but only two controllers are available, so you and Bubbles have to take turns. It's her turn next, and you're actually relieved it's almost over. You're not sure if your pride will ever recover, but still.

"I have nothing else to do with my time, and if you didn't want me to beat you then you shouldn't have shown me shortcuts" With as innocent a grin as she can manage, Siren shrugs, tapping lightly on the various buttons of the controller.

"Yeah, well! .. Well-!" Bubbles pauses, then resigns herself to sticking her tongue out with a helpful _'phbbtbt'_ sound to accompany it. With a short laugh, you go to hand her the controller while getting up from the beanbag. Apparently Siren had claimed it previously, but she let you sit in it because you're the guest. She got banished to the realm of the floor as a result, but Bubbles threw her a pillow from the lower bunk bed for her to sit on.

Once you've switched places, now settled in the spectator's spinny chair, the next race begins. You also prepare yourself to play peacekeeper, as you discovered in the previous round Bubbles was playing they both tend to 'nudge' eachother to throw the competition off. These nudges tend to get quite strong, quite quickly.

They.. Actually seem to be behaving so far. Bubbles still leans more to the side than necessary, as if that will make her kart turn quicker, but they haven't started trying to sabotage eachother yet. Siren had been kind enough to not do that to you when you were playing against her. 

Absently, you nudge your foot on the desk's leg to spin the chair, willing to miss a few seconds of the race to take in the room. They'd told you that they share a room due to lack of space, although you gathered that as soon as you walked in; there's bunk beds in the corner, with fairylights strung up through the metal railing and post-it notes all over the wall in the lower bunk's space. Judging by the star-themed sheets and game cartriges, you assume the lower bunk is Bubbles'. You can't quite see the top bunk, but you're pretty sure that's a shark plushie peeking out over the top.

Posters of all kinds adorn the walls - most detailing protagonists in various superhero movies and comics, others featuring some celebrity or other. A couple drawings are pinned up, too - most of them are of some kind of colourful scenery. There's a couple fliers for musicals by the desk, but you don't see any tickets or merchandise that could be bought there.  
Speaking of the desk, it's a bit barren without the computer on it. Bubbles moved it to the floor so it would be easier to see, so all that's left is what looks like a nightlight, the keyboard, and whatever's in the drawers. You figure it'd be a bit rude to look inside.

Other than the closet pushed into the opposite corner of the room, there's not much else. A small whiteboard propped up by the mirror pinned to the side of the closet, but you can't decipher what's written on it. Looks like some kind of.. Code, maybe?

_"Tricheuse!"_

Ah, so it begins.

"You pushed me off the side of the track! How do you expect me not to retaliate?"

"You cheat because I'm better than you, I'm still going to win!"

"Guys, please don't break the computer" Both of them glance up at you for a second at most, immediately returning to trying to sabotage eachother. At least Bubbles shuffles back a bit from said computer. She then leans to the right and attempts to kick Siren in the side.

What was previously just bickering is now yelling, and they don't seem to be holding back on 'nudging' eachother anymore. After getting kicked, Siren is quick to lean back onto her elbow and swing her leg round to knock Bubbles' leg away, not once letting her eyes leave the screen. Miraculously, she's still in first place.  
"Now look who's cheating!" Still Bubbles, your mind supplies, as she responds by using the momentum to roll off the beanbag and then launch herself on top of her friend. Despite the compromising position, both are still dead set on completing the race judging by how the controllers never leave their hands and their attention never leaves the screen. You're not sure whether to laugh at their shenanigans or be very concerned.

They spend the rest of the race in a similar manner, and ultimately end up on the floor. The pillow that Siren was previously sat on got kicked to the other side of the room at some point, and you'd tugged the abandoned beanbag closer to you to save it. It's a pretty nifty footrest.  
And finally, after multiple threats to the computer's wellbeing and multiple of your warnings of impending broken objects, the race ends. Bubbles won, but just barely. Now, your friends are in a tangle of limbs on the floor, and you kick the beanbag on top of them for good measure.

"Well, that was probably the most intense video game session I've ever witnessed" You opt to say sat in your chair, while one of the two on the floor knocks the beanbag off. "You guys look like a game of twister gone horribly, horribly wrong"

"My life is a game of twister gone horribly, horribly wrong, what's your point?" Bubbles grins at you once she manages to sit up, and you huff a mildly surprised laugh. You weren't expecting that kind of humor from her. Still, she chucks the controller onto her bed before attempting to get up, only to have a hand hook around her ankle and trip her up again. 

"Hey!"

"Suffer with me"

"I almost fell on your head! Let me up!"

_"Suffer"_

This time, you do laugh. Siren hasn't moved from her place face-down on the floor, and now Bubbles is once again haphazardly sprawled out on top of her. She's 'trapped' by a leg thrown over her knees, but you're pretty sure she's just making a show of not being able to get up.

You've been left out of the action for too long, you think, and with a grin that can only mean trouble you get out of your seat and walk around the computer to reach them. Being the only one of the two who can actually see you, Bubbles looks up and gives a small wave. " 'Sup?"

"Not me, that's for sure"

"Wha-ACK!"

You flop down on top of her, resulting in what you're pretty sure is a swear from Siren as well. Bubbles gives a choked laugh as she tries feebly to push you off, but you don't budge. From the bottom of the small pile, Siren is trying to wriggle free now too, but she isn't strong enough to drag herself out.

None of you hear the door open until it's too late, occupied instead with either trying to escape or trying to keep the others trapped. You _were_ doing the latter, until someone else falls on top of you and almost knocks the air out of your lungs. Siren is still now, apparently given up on trying to escape, and Bubbles is trying to lean up to see who else has joined the pile, as you're unable to move to see. When she does, she wriggles more.

"Vani! Get off!"

"Nah, you guys are comfy"

You snort, and try wriggling too in order to escape, but Vani's just a bit too heavy for you to do so. And it doesn't seem like she's going to be moving any time soon. Incomprehensible shouts of protest sound from under you, and manage to twist yourself enough to see the now open door. Another newcomer is standing there.

"Didn't know you guys were having a party up here" Ri's grin is wide, and she takes a few steps forwards so that she's directly in front of the impromptu dogpile. You have to crane your neck up to see her face, but you can hear Bubbles' ghasp of horror when she realises what's about to happen.

"Ri.. Ri no, please-"

Ri spreads both arms out to the sides, closing her eyes and tilting her head up as she leans onto her tiptoes. Bubbles' struggling increases, and you catch on to what's going to happen, too. Above you, Vani is quietly chanting 'fall, fall, fall'.

 _"Sorella,_ mercy! Mercy!"

There is no mercy. Ri falls on top of the pile with a small 'oof'. Both you and Vani are laughing - Ri isn't that heavy at all, there's practically no difference - but Bubbles lets out a shout of betrayal and you're not sure if Siren is still breathing.

"PAPYRUS YOU _SHIT-"_

That's a name you've not heard before, but you vaguely remember Bubbles calling her sister 'Papy' a while ago. Maybe that's her actual name? You did already suspect that the girls have been introducing themselves with nicknames. Nevertheless, you don't get time to dwell on it; There's yet another person at the door.

In a last effort to achieve freedom, Siren wriggles an arm free and tries her best to extend it towards her sister. _"Soeur..._ Save me.." You're not sure if she's being dramatic or if her voice is genuinely that hoarse from all the weight on top of her. Either way, Rus simply looks on as her sister's hand falls limp on the floor. She's probably fine.

It's getting difficult to keep yourself twisted enough to look at the doorway, so you let yourself fall back to your previous position and hope for the best. The chanting of 'fall, fall, fall' is louder now, with both Ri and Vani giggling as they encourage Rus to join them, but you're really not sure if she will. Last you checked, she's not that big a fan of you.

A new weight on top of the pile and overdramatic screams from the bottom of the pile prove you wrong.

\--

Eventually, you managed to escape the confines of the dogpile. Eventually being once Fell came home and got suspicious about the lack of housemates, and found you all upstairs. Apparently, Ruby had disappeared sometime after you went up with Bubbles and Siren.

Now you're sat in a different room, having been invited to spent some time with Ri and Rus. They share a room like their sisters, again due to lack of space. It's a nice room, though - on the smaller side, but with two blow-up beds pushed to the walls either side of the door and various knick knacks strewn about the space. It.. Looks a little bit like organised chaos. They seem to know where everything is, though.

At the foot of the bed you're sat on is a bird cage, and you're reminded of the fact that Ri told you she has a bird. It's pretty cute - you don't know what breed it is, but it's small and has green-ish feathers. It's also loud. You're not sure if it's always like that or if it's just because you're a new person and it doesn't like new people.

"JoJo, shh" It quiets down for about two seconds when Ri approaches, before shrieking again in protest when she opens the cage. She reaches in carefully, and you probably shouldn't be as surprised as you are when it jumps straight onto her hand. She's it's owner, of course it'd be more used to her.

As the bird adjusts in it's new seat, Ri closes the cage and walks over to sit down next to you. "They're a little diva, real fussy about who gets near 'em," She explains, and grins slightly as she proves her point by moving JoJo nearer to you. They grip onto her finger and lean back, quite easily clinging on despite being nearly upside down and squawking at you. "Doesn't even like my sister, and barely tolerates Rus, so don't take it personally"

"Bold of you to assume I would take a bird not liking me personally" Bold and also correct, you're kind of upset that the bird doesn't like you. Ri just chuckles and brings JoJo away again, using her other hand to gently stroke the feathers on their back. From the other bed, where she's laying on her back, Rus glances over at you and speaks up.

"Don't try to deny it, we're all varying degrees of upset that the bird don't like us"

In response, you laugh while Ri sticks her tongue out at her roommate. "You should be honored they tolerate you being in the room, both of you"

Without missing a beat Rus sits up, uses the momentum to stand in the same movement and turns with a flourish, bowing with an unecessary twirl of her hand. "Thank you, tiny feather overlord, for allowing me to be in my own fucking room" JoJo doesn't grace her with any kind of answer, instead flapping their wings for a short moment to then fold them more comfortably. Truly, the most elegant of overlords.

You just snort at the sarcasm dripping from her voice, and you see Ri roll her eyes before getting up again and walking to the window. There's a pirch stuck to the glass near the table that's next to it, and she doesn't even need to be near it for JoJo to leap off her hand and settle on the viewing point. Seeing them fly, even if just for a moment, is pretty cool. You don't often see any birds other than seagulls around here.

As nice as the room is, there isn't much to do - it's a lot quieter than Siren and Bubbles' room. One thing that draws your attention, though, is the wall Rus' bed is pushed up against. It's been painted black - quite the contrast to the other cream coloured walls - with what you assume is chalk paint. There's a pencil holder full of different chalks by the side of the bed, and the wall itself is covered in a massive drawing of the night sky, complete with clouds and mountains in the lower corners. You saw it when you first walked into the room - it's pretty hard to miss - and you're certain that your jaw momentarily dropped. You can only assume that Rus drew it.

Apparently, she's noticed you looking at it, as she watches you for a moment with that same calculating look before leaning down and picking up the container of chalks. She offers it to you, and gestures to a mostly clear space by the top of her bed. "You wanna draw?"

You're honestly shocked. She didn't seem to want anything to do with you before, and now she's letting you draw on her wall. With your best attempt at a smile, you accept and move to sit on her bed instead. What's more, Rus actually sits next to you, and starts to doodle something as well.

Maybe she's finally warming up to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was fun to write! and looks like someone's finally getting more comfortable with the reader
> 
> i hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, i'd love to know what you think! <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * There might be a few mixed feelings in this household.

You shouldn't be as surprised as you are when you realise just how long you've been at your neighbors' house. It was about midday when you arrived, and now the time is trickling into early evening. You should really be getting home soon, but after Angel had returned she insisted on showing you the rest of the house, which is why you're now sat on a blanket on their roof.

To be fair, you don't really want to leave just yet, and probably didn't protest as much as you could've. She showed you the room she shares with Fell on the ground floor - it was immaculately clean, and you were allowed to throw a punch at the punching bag on Fell's side of the room - and made some tea for you before showing you the small rooftop garden. You've decided that Angel is the best company, so far.

"These are Ruby's - don't tell her I moved them" She's been pointing out which plants belong to which of the girls for the past few minutes, sometimes picking them up and returning to where you're sat to show you. Most of them so far have been Ruby's, actually.  
Angel crouches and balances the pot of various succulents on her knee for you to see, and you set your tea down by your side before grinning at her. "You're not allowed to touch them?"

She just stifles a snort, "Ruby doesn't like anyone touching her stuff, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her" With a wink, she stands up again to take the plants back to their place. You huff a laugh, and mime sealing and locking your mouth the next time she looks your way. 

While Angel makes sure the pot goes exactly where it was before, you lean back on your hands and look up at the steadily darkening sky. The atmosphere that comes with sitting within a rooftop garden while the sun slowly sets is calming, only encouraged by the sound of waves rolling over the shore and the fresh air. Yeah, you like it up here. It's quiet, and peaceful, and-

"Hey, you guys gotta come back inside. Like, right now"

Nevermind.

You look over your shoulder at the hatch you'd previously come up through to see Vani poking her head up. She still has that laidback smile that you've yet to see her lose, but it looks slightly tight, and doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Bubbles demanded a house meeting, neighbor included"

"Why?" You echo Angel's question when you're mentioned, but move to stand up nonetheless. She jogs towards her sister and bends down while you take your mug of tea. It's empty.   
The two sisters are talking loud enough for you to hear, but you can't understand a word they're saying.

_"Van a preguntar si ellos quieren venir al cuidad cuando vamos"_

_"¿Vas a dejarlas preguntarlo tan pronto?"_

_"No me importa, si quieren venir, pueden"_

At a loss for what they're discussing, you opt to lightly cough while you wait behind Angel. She glances back when she realises you're there, and offers an apologetic smile. "Sorry, neighbor, apparently they want to talk to you" Oh boy, that's never a good thing.

You've got no choice but to follow the sisters back downstairs, anxiety nipping at your thoughts as you can't help but think about why they'd want to talk to you. Have you done something wrong? Do they not want to be friends with you anymore? Oh God, why did Angel have to phrase it like that- you don't realise that your grip on the mug has turned your knuckles white until Vani is gently prying your fingers off the handle.

"I'll take this to the kitchen for ya," She takes the mug in her hands as you reach the ground floor, giving you a reassuring lopsided smile before glancing up at her sister. "They're in the living room"  
You gathered that everyone was there by the overlapping voices alone, and you're even more reluctant to face them now that Vani's gone. She's probably the calmest of the group, from what you've seen - if any of your anxiety-induced thoughts are correct you're going to want someone calm around.

Angel gently ushers you through the open doorway, and the room falls silent when you both enter. Every single one of the girls you've met so far are there, save for Vani, and the fact that they're all looking at you doesn't help to put your sudden nerves at ease. Still, you try for a smile and are met with a few in return, namely from Bubbles, Ri, and Siren.

"A'ight, they're here," Ruby pipes up from the couch, looking from you to Bubbles with a bored expression. When did she get back? Fell had told you earlier she went out to do something. "Start talkin', _mija"_

Bubbles seems happy to oblige. "Okay! So!" She hops to her feet, abandoning her seat on the armrest of the couch, which Siren is quick to steal. "You've met all of us who live here, aaaand you said yourself you like our company, so! I thought it'd be okay to ask you something!"

... Oh?  
That sounds a lot better than what you were expecting, and your shoulders loose some of their tension. A quick glance around the room tells you that not all the girls were aware of this pending question, though. Ruby in particular has her eyebrows furrowed as she watches her housemate, staring at her intently. You're somewhat relieved to not be on the recieving end of that glare, but Bubbles pays her no mind. Fell and Rus, too, seem suspicious about what's going on. The former is looking between you and Bubbles as silence overtakes the room.

It's with a start that you realise you're expected to say something. "Oh! Um, yea- uhh, yeah, what is it?"

Planting her hands on her hips in the familiarly confident manner you keep seeing her do, Bubbles practically beams at you. "We're going to the city nearby in a couple weeks, wanna come with us? We'll be there for a few days"

Surprisingly - or, perhaps unsurprisingly - the first answer isn't from you. 

_"What?_ You can't just _invite_ them, we barely know 'em!" You didn't think Ruby was capable of shouting or sounding that angry. She was never overly friendly to you, sure, but she seemed the type to not get too worked up over things. Huh, guess you were wrong.  
Bubbles seems to have been expecting this, as she hold up a finger to her friend's face in a 'shush' motion. " _You_ barely know them, because you were stubborn and refused to talk with them like a normal person"

This gives her pause, and you're slightly afraid to speak up. You can't see Ruby's expression now that she's turned completely to Bubbles, her hair is covering the side of her face you can see, but you're willing to bet that she's close to seething. Judging by her voice and rigid stance, at least.

"... I thought we were going to _wait_ until asking them" It's Rus who speaks up next, although she protests much quieter than Ruby. She gives a hard stare to her sister, who just shrugs in reply. You're not quite sure what the exchange means.

"I don't see why they can't come," Ri is sat closest to you, twisting in her seat so she can both look at you and nudge Ruby with her foot at the same time. It's with a grin that she looks back to the others, "They're nice, and fun to be around, and it'd be cool if they could come with us"

"If they want to!" Angel adds in, first looking about the room and then at you. She looks a bit sheepish, maybe even apologetic for the others' behaviors. "We're not going to force you, it's your decision"  
You appreciate her giving you the option. Really, you're not sure if you want to go - there seem to be some very mixed opinions of you in the household. It'd probably be fun, maybe even helpful for your writing, but you don't want to make the trip miserable for any of your neighbors. You don't want to anger any of them, either.

They're all staring at you again, you realise, and you swallow down the lump in your throat before attempting to speak. "I... I don't really mind? If you guys want me to come, sure, but-"

"We can vote!"

What.

"What?"

"Yeah! If most of us want you to come, then you can come if you want! Or if not, then.. Theennn I guess you can't!" Bubbles shrugs as she explains, but she seems confident that you'll be allowed to come. You're not sure if voting is the best idea, but you suppose it's a pretty easy way to decide.  
She has her hand in the air before you can give your input, and you see now what she meant when she said she gets carried away with things that one time. "All those in favor of letting the cute neighbor come with us!"

You snort at the 'title', and watch as both Ri and Siren raise their hands. Ruby just crosses her arms, Fell looks like she's trying to figure you out just by staring at you, and Rus looks.. Conflicted. She keeps glancing at you and then her sister, who raises an eyebrow at her when they make eyecontact. She doesn't raise her hand.

"Um.. I'm not going to vote," Angel speaks up again from beside you, and you see her picking at the stitches on her scarf. She's looking at the ground instead of at anyone in the room. "I don't think it's very fair, they should get to decide whether they want to come or not"

"They will! If the majority is okay with them coming!"

"Which it ain't, if Angie's not voting" Ruby cuts in, and you can see Bubbles deflate when she realises that the votes are at a draw. You don't really mind whether you go with them or not, but she looks like a kicked puppy - did she really want you to go that much?

_"Actually,"_ Someone begins behind you, "I think you'll find we have a tie breaker"

You turn to see Vani leaning against the doorway, looking pointedly at Ruby with a quirked eyebrow as she raises a hand. Within the next few moments, you hear Ruby scoff and someone else shout something, before you're swept off your feel and twirled around in a bone crushing hug. "That means you get to come with us! It's gonna be _so cool_ , we're gonna go to the aquarium and there's these puzzle rooms we wanna try and! There's this really cool bar there so we're going there too and! It's gonna be great! Because you're gonna be there too-!!"

With a wheeze, you have to tap out by the third spin, wriggling in Bubbles' grip in an attempt to escape. Your attempts are futile until Angel comes to your rescue. "Put them down, they haven't even decided yet!" You're fairly sure she grabbed Bubbles' shoulder to stop her, but it's difficult to tell from the angle you're at.  
Much to your relief, you're set back on the floor, and cough into your hand before glancing back to your previous captor. Her grin is sheepish, but you can tell she's too excited to be sincerely sorry. You can't quite find it in you to be annoyed at her.

"Well... _Can_ you come?"

It's Ri who prods you for an answer, having twisted in her seat to now be laying on her stomach with her arms folded and supporting her head on the couch's armrest. She's still periodically jabbing Ruby with her foot, you notice. You stifle a laugh and give a noncommital shrug, "I mean.. I can, but.."

You glance around the room to the rest of the girls. Bubbles is bouncing on the balls of her feet, eagerly awaiting your decision while Angel still has a hand on her shoulder to keep her in check. Fell is staring at you... Warily? Curiously? Rus has leant against the wall at this point, and her expression is unreadable. Siren is still perched on the armrest, having not said a word this entire time - still, she's looking at you intently.  
Ruby scowls and looks away when you make eyecontact, and you can't help but feel a little hurt. What did you do to make her dislike you so much? It doesn't seem fair. In fact, it's _not_ fair - she has no reason to act that way towards you. You can feel anger starting to claw its way into your thoughts, but... That would make you as bad as her. And, maybe she does have a reason to hate you, just one you don't know about. Going to the city with them would give you a chance to actually talk to her, and maybe figure a few things out.

You watch for a brief moment as she tries to keep looking away from you, but ends up glancing back from time to time. With a quiet hum, you make your decision.

"Sure, I'll go with you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, sorry if this one's a bit,,, _eh_. i've been in a depressive slump for the best part of this week, but i really wanted to get this chapter out of the way to move onto more character development and the final introduction
> 
> nevertheless, i hope you guys enjoy it a little more than i do defrgtfr
> 
>  
> 
> and!! while you're here!! check this awesome fanart out!!  
> [galaxybrownies](https://galaxybrownies.tumblr.com) drew [all the girls!](https://galaxybrownies.tumblr.com/post/176560696889/ut-stuff-i-drew-your-girls-spent-like-3-days-on)  
> [undersona](https://undersona.tumblr.com) drew [rus in a pretty dress](https://undersona.tumblr.com/post/176381450413/slides-a-fancy-looking-hsrus-over-to-ut-stuff) and [bubbles!](https://undersona.tumblr.com/post/176131051723/a-doodle-of-ut-stuffs-adorable-hssans-bubbles)  
> a lovely person drew [angel, bubbles, siren and rus](https://ut-stuff.tumblr.com/post/176368733299/here-have-more-feat-angel-and-bubbles-and) and submitted it to me on tumblr!  
> [disasterbisexual](https://disasterbisexual.tumblr.com) drew [ri with an adorable flowercrown!](https://disasterbisexual.tumblr.com/post/175821920100/i-am-dazzled-by-your-charms-ranunculus) they also made lovely moodboards for their interpretations of the girls!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Finally, to the city!

"What do you mean you don't have the reservation?" You'd been anxious the past week leading up to the city trip with your neighbors, and this is one of the top reasons why. "The person I spoke to said that they'd reserve a room for me, that was three days ago"  
You're trying your best not to choke on your words, but with the hotel's receptionist looking at you like you're stupid, combined the feeling that you're holding everybody up, nerves are starting to get the best of you. You can only hope it doesn't show too much in your expression.

"Look, I'm sorry, but there's no reservation under your name, and no other rooms available right now. If you _did_ make a reservation-"

"I did"

"-it just must've not gone through. It happens sometimes, nothing we can do about it - sorry for the inconvenience" Their bored expression and fake politeness leads you to believe that they're not all that sorry. But, you don't see what else you can do - so you reluctantly thank them and leave the desk. Angel, Vani, and Ri are waiting for you by the elevator, and you'd left your bag with them while you were speaking to the receptionist. The others went ahead to check out their rooms.

Angel is the first to spot you approaching and give a small wave, but her hand falls along with her smile when she sees how close to crying you are. You realise this too, and your efforts to stop the panic gripping you increases tenfold. You shouldn't let yourself get worked up over this, there must be some way to fix it. Still, despite your best efforts to appear unaffected, Angel is in front of you and holding your bag out for you in an instant. "Are you alright, neighbor? You don't have a room key with you, didn't they give you one?"

"Apparently, the reservation I made didn't go through. I don't have a room" You take your bag, but don't quite have the energy to hold it. It gets set at your feet instead.

"What? We've stayed at this place before, they're usually good with that stuff - couldn't you get another room?" Ri is next to speak up from where she's leaning against the wall, pocketing her phone to tune into the conversation. While you appreciate her concern, you don't appreciate the reminder that there's no other rooms. Luckily, your expression alone seems to serve as a viable answer - she narrows her eyes slightly at the reception desk, as if glaring at someone who isn't looking will convey her annoyance. You guess it was worth a shot.

The situation wouldn't be as bad if the city wasn't so far from your house - but you're in unfamiliar territory with no room, and you don't know where would have an open room on such short notice. Things like this are why you've always been reluctant to travel anywhere away from home; there's always too many possible mistakes that make the anxiety in the back of your mind spike.  
You try for a deep breath to calm yourself, but it comes out a bit shaky.

"Okay, so.. Why don't you room with some of us?" Vani suggests, and her voice draws your attention out of the panicked jumble of thoughts you'd started falling into. "We're only gonna be here for about three days, you can choose who you room with"

"That's.." Not a bad idea, actually. It solves the issue, and lets you spend more time with your friends - you just hope whoever you end up rooming with doesn't mind. "Yeah, okay, if you're sure-"

"Oh! You can room with us!" Angel is quick to jump on the idea, and you crack a smile at her burst of excitement. You're about to agree, but Ri cuts in before you can.

"I hope you realise you're gonna have to fight my sister for them"

"Not if she finds out about it after they've decided!"

"Is that fair?" The question makes her pause, and you can practically see the internal conflict that it caused in your friend. Angel then turns, studies your amused expression for a moment, then bends to pick up the bag at your feet and pivots on her heel towards the elevator.  
"They can decide themselves when they see the rooms!"

While Ri grins and lunges in front of her for the honor of pressing the button to call the elevator down, Vani nudges you with her elbow. When you look over to her, you see that she's grinning and is directly beside you now. Huh, you never noticed those freckles on her nose before. "Don't let them pressure you," She glances at you, and that grin softens to a lopsided smile, "They mean well, but it happens sometimes. You can room with whoever you want"

You can see how the girls each wanting to spend time with you could be percieved as pressuring - you actually hadn't thought about it, you're more inclined to go with the flow. Still, you appreciate her giving you chance to decide, and also helping you out. You return her grin and nudge, beginning to walk to the elevator when you hear its doors open. "Thanks, Vani"

\--

The girls have four rooms for all of them - you've been told that each pair of sisters are sharing a room. And, right now, you're sat on the bed in Bubbles and Ri's room, leaning on the latter's shoulder as you watch her play a game on her phone. She seems pretty good at it.

As Ri had predicted, Bubbles immediately wanted you to share a room with them when you told her what had gone down. The only problem with that is that there's only one bed, and - while probably big enough for the three of you - that wouldn't leave much personal space for anyone involved. Unfortunately, this is the same with the other rooms as well. You can't really blame them - rooms with one bed are just a bit cheaper and they didn't know that you were going to end up in one of them too.

So, you'd just told them you'll decide later.

Bubbles has perched herself on the end of the bed, intently focused on the old nintendo ds she'd brought with her. Judging by the familiar battle music, you gather she's playing one of the pokemon games. This doesn't surprise you in the slightest.

And then there's a knock on the door, and your head almost falls off Ri's shoulder when she jerks at the noise. She gives a short, awkward laugh when you snap back to sitting up straight, then utters a quiet "sorry" before slipping off the bed to answer the door. Bubbles hasn't moved from her spot, you notice.

"To what do I owe the honor of seeing you again, shortstack?"

 _"Shut up,_ I'm not here for you," The conversation by the door draws your attention, and you raise a surprised eyebrow at seeing Fell there. She has her arms crossed, her weight resting on one foot, and when she looks past Ri to make eyecontact with you a particular sense of self-preservation makes you shrink back on yourself slightly. Her sharp glare and tone of voice are kinda scary, especially when you don't know her as well as you know the others. "I'm here for them"

You glance from side to side, even you're the only 'them' in the room, then wordlessly point to yourself. Fell just scoffs lightly and pushes past Ri to enter the room. "You, yes. Angel and I are going to the laser tag place further in the city, but we need more people to play - do you have good aim?"  
Laser tag? Shit, it's been a while since you've played that with anyone. Despite this, you find yourself grinning.

"I can aim well enough to stand a chance, I'd love to play with you guys! Is it gonna be in teams or every man for himself?" 

"Teams, Angel is asking Siren if she wants to come as well" You're not sure if Siren would want to join - but, then again, you've found out the hard way she _is_ quite competitive. Still, you're on your feet and heading to the door in an instant, and the determined grin on your face is all the confirmation Fell needs.  
She leads the way out into the corridor and you go to follow her, but an arm around your shoulders stops you in your tracks. "That just makes four if Siren goes too, right? Isn't the minimum usually five?" You glance up at Ri as she essentially uses you as an armrest, but she's focused more on Fell, who has now paused and is glaring at your captor over her shoulder.

"My sister is coming too" Oh, great.

"Five's an uneven number, you'll have unfair teams"

"Are you trying to hint at something?"

At this, Ri grins and releases you, but follows you out the door. "Let me play too," She says, miming a gun with her fingers and 'shooting' at you, encouraging you to giggle at her antics, "I can shoot"

You'd be fine with her tagging (hah) along, but Fell seems less impressed. She gestures with her head to the room you just came out of, "Wouldn't your sister like it better? She's more tolerable" You wouldn't necessarily describe Bubbles as 'more tolerable', but to each their own.  
In reply, Ri swings open the door again and leans over-exaggeratedly into the room. 

"Yo, _sorella,_ wanna play laser tag?"

"Can't," Is the distracted reply, "Tryin'a catch a kyogre. Have fun"

With a victorious grin, Ri exits the room completely and closes the door, not even waiting for Fell to finish her defeated sigh of "fine" before bounding past you to hook her arm around her housemate's shoulders and drag her down the hall. "To laser tag we go!"  
You bark a laugh as you follow them, watching as Fell writhes to get out of Ri's grip only to get sandwiched between her and Angel at the end of the hallway. The exasperated look she gives you from in between them is enough to get you to laugh again. 

Siren and Ruby had been waiting with Angel by the elevator, and Siren is quick to stand at your side. She doesn't say anything - then again, you didn't really expect her to - but returns the smile you give her. You take that as an accomplishment on your part, remembering how stoic she was when you were first introduced to her.  
You try to offer a friendly smile to Ruby, too, but she just flat out ignores you. You try to give her the benefit of the doubt and decide that she just didn't see it.

"I'm glad you decided to play with us! It's just a short walk towards the centre of the city," You realise that Angel is talking to you now, and turn your attention to her instead. She has her arm linked with Fell's, who looks like she's doing her best to ignore that fact. "Because you're kind of an honorary guest, you get to choose who you want on your team when we get there"

As you go to throw an arm around Siren's shoulders to drag her closer to you (she jerks at the sudden contact, and you try not to feel bad about it), Fell uses their linked arms to jab Angel in the side. 

_"No recuerdo haber estado de acuerdo con eso"_

_"Shh, es cortesía"_

You're not sure what they're saying, but apparently it's not too important since Ri immediately drags them both into the elevator as soon as it opens. Considering the three of them are currently linked together, this is an easy thing to do. With a quiet snort, you follow after them, giving Siren no choice but to follow as well since she's now trapped under your arm. Ruby is the last to join all of you in the confined space, and promptly leans against one of the walls with her arms crossed. Ri is quick to nudge her with her foot. "Lighten up, geez, we're going to laser tag not a funeral"

It's difficult to tell whether Ruby's resulting smirk is mocking or not, but you assume Ri's teasing helped just a little bit, considering she gets a light punch on her arm in return. You've never really thought about it until now, but it occurs to you that Ri and Ruby actually seem to get along quite well. Maybe you can ask Ri how to get on Ruby's good side later.

\--

Angel was right about it being a short walk there - it feels like it only took about five minutes. Or, maybe the friendly chatter that went on during the walk made it feel shorter. Either way, you're now waiting in the reception area while Angel pays for the six of you. It's surprisingly empty.

"Decided on your team yet?" Ri walks back over to you from where she was looking at a couple leaflets that were on display, and you give a quick shrug. You know you want Siren on your team, there's no way you're playing against her again, but other than her, you're not sure. Your noncommital response seems to please your friend, however, as she grins at you almost excitedly. "Sooo... That means there's space for me?"

You probably should've known that was what she was getting at. With a short laugh, you take her hand and pull her over to the small cluster of chairs by the windows. Siren and Ruby are there, too. "Yeah, sure - I hope you weren't lying when you said you can shoot" Unsure whether her giggle of a reply is a good thing or not, you let go of her hand as she sits, and you take your own seat next to her. You'd also purposely dragged her closer to where Ruby is sitting - she's sat opposite you now.

She hasn't acknowledged either of you, but you've got nothing to lose; so you speak up. "Ruby, you gonna be on your sister's team?" Finally, she glances at you. Her head is propped up on one hand and her legs are crossed, and with the way her jacket is slipping to reveal a shoulder she looks a bit like someone you'd find in a magazine.  
Her answer is a simple shrug, though. "I guess"

Ri scoffs goodnaturedly beside you, "You could at least _try_ to be friendly"

Ruby just sticks her tongue out at her. She isn't giving you a death stare, though, which you think is progress. Maybe she just doesn't care enough to put the effort in anymore. The mentioning of her sister seems to have summoned her, though, since Fell is now leading Angel back to where you're all sat. A staff member is trailing behind them, and you're reminded of the lectures they always give before you're allowed to play. Great.

"Alright, is this all of you?" There's various affirmations from your group, and the guy then gestures over to a door by the desk. "Guns n' stuff are this way, then - let's get you guys ready for some laser tag"

You notice that Angel is quick to jog to his side, happily talking to him as if he weren't a complete stranger. Fell walks just behind them, and Ruby stays close to her - which leaves Ri pulling you along while you try to glance over your shoulder at Siren to make sure she's not left behind. You've noticed she seems to get forgotten sometimes, being someone so quiet in a group of extremely varied personalities. Which is a shame, because you think she's pretty cool. You also think it's about time you ask her to be on your team.

Siren jogs a few steps to catch up and you make an effort to slow down a bit, even though Ri is still pulling you along just slightly too quickly to be comfortable. "Hey, Si," You hope she doesn't mind the nickname, "Wanna be on our team?"  
As you nod to Ri on 'our', you get the impression she was expecting you to ask by the way she grins.

"Yes, but I've never done this before"

"You've never played laser tag before?" That is a wrong that must be righted, and when Siren shakes her head you reach out and pull her closer to you again by her arm. She flinches, so you let go, but notice that she stays near you. Maybe you shouldn't touch her so casually. "I guess we're just gonna have to fix that!"

"Will you three _please_ hurry up? We have limited time, you know" Fell calls, already prepared to battle with her vest in place and a gun in hand. You just offer a grin, and detach yourself from Ri to get yourself ready. 

You find a gun no problem, but the vest proves to be a small challenge to get on by yourself. The clips are in really awkward places that require you to twist yourself just to get a grip on them. Who designed these things, geez?  
There's a sudden weight on your back, making you almost stumble forwards, but two arms catch you before diving for the clip you couldn't quite reach. Ri then rests her chin on your shoulder, and you can see her grinning out of the corner of your eye. "You looked like ya needed some help" While yes, yes you did need some help, her cheekiness is unecessary. Cute, but unecessary. So you huff a laugh and gently shove her face away.

She just rests her chin on top of your head instead.

"Okay so, game rules, guys - all the standard stuff you probably know, but it's my job to tell you again-" You're quick to zone out of the lecture on what you can and can't do once in the arena, instead twirling a strand of Ri's hair around your finger for most of the speech. It ends up getting braided, even though you have no way of securing it. She doesn't seem to mind.  
You can see Angel stood by her team, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she listens intently to the instructor. She looks excited to get started, and you can't help but smile. It's nice to see her so animated.

By the time all the rules have been explained - and ignored, oops - you're ready to just get in there and start the game. Your wish comes true fairly quickly; as soon as the door opens, you grab your closest team-mate and book it to a shelter. There's a shout behind you, but your focus now is on navigating the neon maze of fog and flashing lights. It's not too hard - there are walls scattered about, some taller than others, and various places that would be good for a base. There's also some stairs that lead up to what looks to you like a fort, and that's what you make a run for, dragging the team-mate you grabbed behind you.  
In your rush, you didn't see where any of the others went, but that's fine. 

It turns out to be Ri that got dragged with you, and she slumps against a wall once you deem it safe enough to stop running. Meanwhile, you press yourself against the wall by the makeshift window, leaning forwards just enough to survey the arena below. You've got a good lookout point from here - you give yourself a mental pat on the back for getting up here first.

A countdown starts over the speakers, but between the numbers you hear scuffling outside your fort. Then a thud, and a hand latches onto the edge of the 'window'. You start and jump backwards, almost tripping over Ri in the process. Gun at the ready, you crouch once you've got your balance again, but lower your weapon when Siren heaves herself up and through the opening.

"... Are you allowed to do that?"

"Probably not"

You snort, setting down your gun to help her up. It's surprisingly easy to forget about her climbing ability, even though you literally found her on your roof the first time you properly spoke to her. She grabs the gun she dropped as she stands, then immediately backs up against the corner by the window to be out of shooting range. That's a good idea, actually - you follow suit once you've retrieved your own gun.  
"Okay, so, what's the plan?" Ri speaks up from the floor, and you think for a moment before grinning and shrugging.

"Win?"

"Wow, what a great plan. Truly, it's foolproof. The work of genious-"

"Take Fell out first, she has the best aim," Siren interjects, cutting off Ri's spiel of sarcastic remarks about your 'plan'. Both you and Ri are quick to look at her.  
The countdown as stopped, music taking its place as the game begins, and your team-mate is studying the playing field from the edge of the window. You try to spot any of the others from your position, but the fog and neon lights make it close to impossible. "Angel is fast, don't let her spot you. Ruby has bad dep- deth- _merde--"_

"Depth perception?" Ri offers, and Siren snaps her fingers at her with a nod.

"That. So she probably won't move around a lot"

You had no idea Ruby had bad depth perception - you'd never noticed her struggling with it before. Did Siren find out about it through observation alone or was she told about it? Either way, it's useful information.  
"We're going to have to move, we're trapped in here," It didn't occur to you that the fort would leave you trapped, either. Maybe you should just let Siren lead - though that seems to be exactly what she's doing. "Ri, go to that wall there, by the- eh.. The house thing. I think one of them is hiding in there" She points with her gun to where she means, and Ri gets to her feet to look.

With a salute and a quick "Aye aye, captain", she disappears down the stairs you'd previously pulled her up. Siren then looks to you and points to a different area of the arena as subtly as she can. "I want you to get over there, it has lots of cover and is easy to get to from here. I'll be by the stairs so they don't get up here"  
She seems to have thought this out quite well - is that what she was doing while the rest of you were talking? It's kind of hard to believe she's never done this before. Still, you give her a grin and salute like Ri did. "Got'cha!"

And as soon as you take one step down the stairs, all hell breaks loose.

Ri must've gotten a hit in, since you're pretty sure that shout of outrage came from Fell. It's impossible for you to tell where she is, though - not with the music and the lights and all the possible hiding places. You can't dwell on that right now; you're in plain sight and need to get to where Siren told you to go. So, you run for it.  
Carrying a gun and being accompanied by music and light effects makes you feel like you're in some kind of action movie, and you decide to enhance this feeling by quite literally leaping and rolling behind one of the walls. You almost dropped your gun, but it made you feel cool.

After checking that you're not being shot at and that there's no enemies around, you squint as you look back up to the window of the fort. You can just about see Siren there, crouched and aiming somewhere to the right of you. Is one of the others near? You draw your gun to your chest and decide to check it out.

It's easy enough to go from one wall to another, as disorientating as the lights might be, but you're finding it difficult to spot anyone even at ground level. You're about to switch covers again, when a _'pew!'_ sound almost makes you jump out of your skin. Oh shit, that came from your vest. Oh _shit,_ they've spotted you.  
You whirl around to try and see who shot you, but you still can't see anyone. Until you think to look up, that is. Ruby has perched herself behind one of the walls in your area, but has managed to position herself so that her back is pressed against the wall of the room and her legs assist in keeping her suspended there. A speaker is blocking her from Siren's view, and with the way her legs are bent it's going to be difficult to hit her vest. _What a smart little shit._

She grins and shoots you again, and you shout before ducking behind another wall. Fuck, no, this leaves you open for the others to see. But if you move back, Ruby'll get you again- This was their plan all along, wasn't it? Well, you refuse to be taken out so easily.

You wedge yourself between two walls, keeping an eye out for any other potential causes of your defeat, and look up to see Ruby trying to spot you again. You move again to one of the shorter walls, meaning you have to crouch, but now you're more or less diagonal to her position; you can shoot her easily from here. So that's what you do.  
The almost offended look on her face when you manage to shoot her vest is enough to make you laugh, and you have to quickly slap your hand over your mouth and duck behind the wall when she looks your way. Maybe you laughed a little louder than you thought you did. Oops.

Your vest alerts you of it being attacked again with multiple _'pew pew!'_ noises, and you shout in alarm when you see Angel aiming at you from one of the shelters. You jump up and shoot at Ruby again before booking it to the other side of the arena. Probably not the best idea, but you panicked.  
Stumbling into a different shelter - the 'house thing' Siren had described earlier - you press your back against one of its walls and look over the edge of the window to try and get your bearings. Angel is somewhere at the back of the room, Ruby is behind the speaker, and from what you can see (and hear) Fell and Ri seem to be at war with eachother. Luck seems to be on your side, considering your team-mate hasn't been tagged out yet.

You end up staying in your little shelter for a while to catch your breath, and during that time you catch sight of Siren heading towards where you last saw Angel. She's doing a damn good job of dodging any hits, especially considering she's weaving through and jumping over walls while doing so. She's in Ruby's target zone, though, so you try to shout a warning to her: "Siren! By the speakers!"  
You can't tell if she heard you or not, and you don't stick around to find out - someone just got slammed against the wall of your shelter if that loud _'thud'_ was anything to go by. Naturally, you crouch as you near the window, and hold your breath when Fell stands up. Oh God. Wait, she hasn't seen you yet - she crouches down again and stays near the wall, and you debate whether or not it'd be worth it to be like a cool action hero and leap through the window to shoot her.

... It might get you tagged out, but damn, it'd sure look cool. 

Mentally, you count down from three, and then launch yourself through the window, managing to roll on impact with the floor. Fell shouts in alarm, and you twist as soon as you're able and shoot at her vest. Apparently, Ri got in more hits than you first realised, since it only takes one shot for the her previously green light to turn red - meaning she's out. Realising this, you throw your hands up victoriously despite still being on the floor, and Fell grumbles something under her breath. She lightly kicks your leg on her way past, and you snort before sitting up. You were right, that was badass! Or, it felt badass. You're pretty sure it was badass.  
"Hey! Back here!" You look up to see Ri poking her head over one of the walls, and you scramble to your feet only to dive behind yet another wall. The adrenaline from your little stunt is making you giddy, and you have to remind yourself not to laugh. Ri isn't doing a very good job of not laughing either, though. "That was great! Now we just gotta get Ruby and Angie-"

_"HIJO DE PUTA-!"_

Someone yells, and someone else laughs loud enough for you to hear over the music. Both you and Ri look over the wall to try and figure out what happened, and you try to cover a snicker when you see Ruby flipping off Siren as she goes to join her sister by the door. So she _did_ hear you!  
"Just Angel, then - last I saw she was at the back of the room" You grin as you turn to your team-mate, and she offers you a firstbump - which you gladly return - before jogging to the next shelter. You follow after her, but almost crash into her when she suddenly stops. 

You're about to ask what the holdup is, but Ri drops to the ground with a - very overdramatic - yell while clutching her chest. The light on her vest is red, and you only have time for a very short laugh before you get shot as well. That laugh morphs to a startled squeak as you sidestep to duck behind the cover you'd previously been hiding in. From where she lay on the floor, Ri extends a shaking hand to you.  
"Avenge meee..." With those final, hoarse words, she lets her hand drop. She even sticks her tongue out and does a _'bleh'_ sound for good measure.

Conflicted on whether to play along or laugh, you cover your mouth with your free hand and try to stay quiet, even when giggles threaten to give away your position. You happen to look up from you 'dead' comrade, though, and see Siren crouched opposite you. She's looking at Ri with what you think is mock disappointment, but then makes eyecontact with you and gestures with her head in the direction Angel is in, lifting her gun slightly towards her too.

You get the message - you adjust your position and tighten your grip on the gun, and give an affirmative nod to your friend. It's time to end this battle; hopefully before your adrenaline wears off.

Siren holds her free hand up in a 'hold on' gesture, edging forwards to look around the wall she's currently crouched behind. You wait for her signal, and this time, when her hand drops and you both charge together towards your unsuspecting enemy, it really does feel like you're in an action movie.

\--

"Well, that was exhausting," You proclaim, slumping down in the seat you'd mentally claimed earlier in the laser tag place's reception area. A quiet laugh makes its way into your words, despite your adrenaline having abandoned you in favor of letting tiredness take its place. "Fun, but exhausting"

"I demand a rematch the next time we come here" Fell is next to speak up, staying stood by the door with her arms crossed and shooting halfhearted glares to you and Ri. You can't help but feel happy that there's the possibility of there being a next time.  
Next to you, Siren barks a laugh, and that happiness you felt increases tenfold. It's something so small, to hear her laugh openly, but you believe it's progress - it's good that she's becoming more open to express herself.

"Dunno 'bout you guys, but I'm hungry" Ruby stands up from her seat, stretches her arms above her head, then heads for the door. She subtly reaches an arm out to touch the wall near it, you notice. Back where she was previously sat, Ri raises a hand.

"I'm tired"

"We can get some food, then go back to the hotel!" Angel practically chirps as she pulls Ri to her feet - who is no help at all, acting like she's melted and forcing Angel to carry her - before turning to you with a delighted smile. "You're right, though, that was fun! Even if I lost - you're good at laser tag!"  
You grin at the praise, and go to stand up as well. "Literally all the strategy was Siren, I just followed orders" You nod your head to the girl beside you when you mention her, and watch as she blinks owlishly at you for a moment before letting out a quiet _'snrk'_ and bumping your shoulder with hers. She then follows the others out the door, leaving you to jog a few steps to catch up with the small group.

Yeah, that was fun - food sounds good right about now, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oOF i had a massive motivation boost from all the lovely messages of feedback i got, so! here's! the longest chapter yet!! i'm proud of myself!!
> 
> this was super fun to write - i hope it's just as fun to read! =D and please feel free to either leave a comment here or hit me up on my [tumblr!](https://ut-stuff.tumblr.com/) your feedback means the world to me, and really motivates me to write more!! <3
> 
>  
> 
> and hey, while you're here - check out this awesome fanart!!
> 
> [kuroshiro101](https://kuroshiro101.tumblr.com/) drew this super cool piece of [ruby and siren!](https://kuroshiro101.tumblr.com/post/177102292927/a-present-for-ut-stuff-i-love-these-two-so-i)  
> [sansflake](https://sansflake.tumblr.com/) drew an adorable [pixel bubbles!](https://sansflake.tumblr.com/post/176665831913/a-pixelated-bubbles-for-ut-stuff-your-girls-are)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Fish!!

It's debatable whether going back to the hotel right after getting some food was a good idea or not. On one hand, the sun is setting and you've used up all your energy for the day, now also being comfortably full and ready to just go to bed. But that means you have to face choosing _which_ bed.

So here you are, back in Bubbles and Ri's room, perched on the end of their bed while the former of the two stares you down with puppy eyes. Next to her, Angel has hold of your bag, and is giving you a similarly guilt-inducing look. Oh no.  
"So, have you decided who you're gonna room with yet?" Bubbles prompts you for an answer, and the best you can do is give her a sheepish grin and a shrug. You'd been too caught up in laser tag and food to have given it any more thought since you left earlier. "Well- Well your bag's already in here! So!!"

"We can move their bag, it's not heavy," Angel is next to interject, and holds your bag up as proof. She's right, it's not very big or heavy - you'd only taken the bare minimum for the three days you'd be in the city for. You notice Bubbles actually pout at this information, and have to force yourself not to look at her, lest you give in to how _goddamn adorable_ she's being.

"I guess, but it's in here anyways! Moving it to your room would be wasting energy" 

"Energy used for them isn't wasted at all!" Oh God, stay strong- Don't look at the puppy eyes, _don't look at the puppy eyes--_

You actually don't have to worry about the puppy eyes now. When Bubbles sputters trying to come up with an answer, you risk a glance at your friends only to see that _she's_ the one now having to resist the borderline pleading look Angel's giving her. Oh how the tables turn.  
You're not sure if it's going to work, but.. You suppose Angel does look similar enough to Ri - something you'd been noticing a lot today when you were talking to both of them. Would that make it more or less likely to work, though? You don't even know who's the older sibling.

"Why don'cha stay with Angie and Vani tonight, then with us tomorrow? Win-win" Ri finally speaks up behind you, having been dozing on the other side of the bed previously. You twist to look at her, and find that she's still got her hands behind her head and looks half asleep. It is a pretty good solution, though, so you offer a smile that she's quick to return.

"... I _guess,_ " Comes the defeated reply, and you turn again to see Bubbles crossing her arms and Angel looking absolutely delighted. With a short laugh, you stand and go to take your bag from her.

"Sounds good to me - it's getting late anyways," As you sling it over your shoulder, you pull Bubbles into a quick side-hug in an attempt to get her to stop pouting. She lets out a quiet _'snrk'_ sound, leading you to believe she's mostly pouting for show. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, then"  
Two calls of "Good night!" follow you as you leave the room, which you return as Angel leads you a few doors down the hall. You jog a few steps to catch up to her, and give a grin when she holds the door to her room open for you.

Vani is already in there, sat on the bed with a book in her lap, and looks up when you enter. "So you're staying with us tonight?" She asks, and you hum a confirmation as you go to set your bag down on one of the chairs by the corner of the room. The plush covers and pillows of the bed are looking more and more appealing.

"You can use anything in the bathroom, I don't know how much you brought with you" Angel informs you, crouched by the opposite side of the bed and pulling what you assume are clothes for sleeping in out of her bag. You say a quick thanks over your shoulder as you take what you need out of your bag, proceeding to slip into the bathroom to go through your nightly routine. You can shower in the morning, though - you can't be bothered to do that right now.

By the time you're done and out of the bathroom, Vani has abandoned her book along with her hat and hoodie, and is comfortably hidden up to her chin under the covers, watching her sister pull the curtains closed. Angel has changed into leggins and an oversized t-shirt that makes her look tiny for once, and looks your way when you step out of the door. It's almost weird seeing her with her hair down - every other time you've seen her she's had it pulled into some kind of ponytail. Now, though, it's freely hanging over her shoulders, and- is it just you, or does it look curlier than before?

"Are you finished in the bathroom?" She asks, and promptly heads that way as soon as you nod. You're too tired to question your friend's hair - it's none of your business, anyways. So, you lift up the covers and crawl underneath next to Vani instead. There should be just enough room for the three of you.  
Speaking of Vani, you didn't know it was possible for someone to fall asleep that quickly. And yet, when you lean up to look at her face, she definitely seems to be asleep. Huh.

You can't really blame her too much - this bed is really comfy.

By the time Angel slips into the bed next to you, you're well on your way to falling asleep - a hum of acknowledgement is the only reply you give to her quiet "Good night, sleep well" before you properly fall asleep.

 

It's difficult to tell what time you wake up, considering the closed curtains, but you're willing to bet that it's definitely not after the sun has risen. There's no light peeking in behind the thin fabric, and the only sounds from outside is the occasional passing car or distant group of people. With a quiet, incomprehensible grumble, you shift to lay on your side and hopefully go back to sleep.  
... It's kinda cold, though. That's probably why you woke up.

It takes you a full minute to realise you no longer have any covers over you, and you have to twist to sit up and see where they went. Ah. Vani has them.  
The fact that she's managed to almost roll herself into a blanket burrito would've been kinda cute if it weren't for the fact that you want some of the warmth it provides too, so you reach over and attempt to tug the covers back over you, hopefully without waking her up. This proves to be easier than you expected, as she doesn't even stir and you successfully drag the blanket back over yourself. 

It occurs to you then that Angel has probably been left without covers too, so you try to pull them over her as well. Your sleep-bleary brain wasn't expecting a hand to push them back towards you, though. As you look up, you see that she's completely awake, looking at you with a small smile. Has she been awake the entire time?

"Yeah - I forgot my sleeping pills at home, I didn't realise I didn't have them until we got here"

Oh, you said that out loud. You shift and bring a hand up to rub your eyes in an attempt to focus more on what she's saying, but the temptation of sleep is getting harder and harder to ignore. "That sucks" You mumble, not really sure what else you could say. You're not really sure what else you can do, either - so you go with the first course of action your tired mind supplies you with.  
You reach forwards and wrap an arm around her waist, simultaneously pulling her onto her side and dragging yourself off your pillow in the process. That's fine, you're too tired to care. Besides, Angel's warm - you end up shifting closer to her.

You miss the way she wriggles slightly in your hold before going still, and miss the stifled giggles as you fall asleep again.

\--

You're pretty sure that it's the shifting on the other side of the bed that wakes you up again, but it's definitely morning this time. The room is brighter, you can hear various sounds outside, and- .. And you're most definitely not nuzzled into a pillow right now.

Blinking the sleep out of your eyes, you glance up to see that Angel is looking down at you, biting her lip in what looks like a desperate attempt to not laugh at something, even though her shoulders are shaking. Your mind hasn't caught up yet, so you mentally shrug it off and return to your previous position, holding her closer to you and closing your eyes again. She doesn't seem to mind, so it's fine, right? Right.

"Neighbor?" Her voice sounds strained, and is punctuated by the laughter she's trying so hard to hold back.

"Mm?"

"Your face is in my boobs"

Well that sure is one way to get you to wake up. You jerk back so suddenly that you're pretty sure you're on the verge of falling off the bed, and this seems to be the last straw for Angel to start laughing. She rolls onto her back and brings a hand up over her mouth, but otherwise laughs unabashedly at the complete and utter mortification on your face as realisation dawns on you. Oh God, you'd been in that position all night. _Oh God._  
You notice that Vani isn't in the bed now either, which means she must've seen the position you were in. Your mortification doubles in intensity.

"Shit, I- Oh God, I'm so sorry-" You sit up and try to apologise, but Angel shakes her head and waves a dismissive hand at you even as her laughter devolves into giggles. At least she's not mad about it, you suppose.  
Your face is hot from embarassment, and you can't quite meet her eyes just yet. This might not be the most embarassing thing you've ever done, but it sure it up there.

"Sleep well?" You look up as Vani appears from the bathroom, still in her pijamas. Her grin is shit eating as you sputter, trying to vocalise a response, and you almost choke as she continues. " 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's the _breast_ night's sleep I've had in a while"

Angel actually _snorts_ between her laughter, but you're not sure if it was because of the pun or because of your alarmed shout of _"Oh my God shut up-!"_

 

You've only barely recovered enough to function by the time you go downstairs to meet the others for breakfast, but still refuse to answer any of the questions directed at you as to why your face is red. Luckily, they move onto a different topic after a little while, and the two sisters you shared a room with grant you the mercy of not mentioning anything that happened.  
So now you're sandwiched between Bubbles and Siren, finishing off your breakfast of choice while they point out various things on a leaflet Bubbles had all but slammed down in front of you. It's for an aquarium nearby, and they seem absolutely ecstatic about going.

"They have pretty much everything you'd expect, but! There's also an outside part that you can walk over like this bridge thing and there's supposed to be sharks and stuff in there!" Bubbles is leaning over her plate of food to point to the pictures on the leaflet, and is doing a damn good job of convincing you to go with the way she looks at you excitedly whenever you make a noise or comment of interest. She's gonna be the death of you, you can feel it.  
On your other side, Siren leans forwards to flip the leaflet over, and points to a different picture.

"There's also food" 

"Sold, when're we going?" You look from one to the other, finding their excitement to be infectious as you start grinning too. Before either of them answers, though, Rus leans over from across the table and snags the leaflet. You watch as she studies it for a moment, then holds it up and points to one of the fish portrayed near the title.

 _"Comment s'appelle celui-ci?"_ You figure she's talking to Siren, but you do recognise the _'is called'_ part. Next to you, you watch as Siren practically lights up at the question, and begins talking in rapid-fire French, much too quickly for you to have any hope of picking out familiar words. She makes grabby hands for the leaflet at one point, and points to the markings on the fish once she has it in her hands.  
You huff a quiet laugh and decide to leave her to it - she seems to know a lot on the subject, even if you can't understand a word she's saying. 

"We can probably go as soon as we're done here - I'm gonna ask the others if they wanna come too" It's Bubbles who finally answers your previous question, and you give a nod before returning to your food. Out of the corner of your eye you watch Siren continue to speak animatedly about - you assume - the fish on the leaflet, and can't help a fond smile when you see how attentively her sister is listening to her.

\--

By the time everyone's done with breakfast, Bubbles has managed to convince Vani to join the group, and you're pretty sure Rus can't leave even if she wanted to. You can hear her and Siren talking behind you even now, as Bubbles leads the way to the aquarium.  
It's not far, maybe a little further than the laser tag place you went to yesterday, but it feels like the walk went by even quicker once you zoned out and went on autopilot. You were made well aware of when the aquarium was in view, though, as Siren pushed ahead of you to run the rest of the way with Bubbles trailing behind her.

"Hey, wait for us!" You call after them with a short laugh once your brain catches up again, and you speed up a bit so as to not get left completely in the dust. Neither Vani nor Rus seem concerned about getting left behind, however.

The line to get in is a lot shorter than you were expecting, fortunately enough, so it's not long before you're being dragged through various rooms and hallways by two very excited girls. Siren stops at every tank and glass window to see what's inside, but Bubbles seems very eager to get to the sharks already. She tugs on your hand every few seconds and is bouncing on the balls of her feet whenever you stop to look at the fish with Siren.  
"If you wanna see them that badly, just go on ahead, we'll catch up," You suggest after a short while, beacause - as lovely as she is - the constant tugging and reminders is getting pretty annoying pretty quickly. She seems reluctant to leave, until Vani walks up behind her and gives her a couple pats on the shoulder.

"I'll go with you-"

"Okay!"

And just like that, they're gone - Bubbles drags Vani behind her with hardly any resistance, and you silently mourn the loss of your calmest comrade. It was nice knowing her.  
A tug on your still occupied hand draws your attention back to Siren, who's absolutely entranced by the colourful fish swimming about in the tank in front of you. She doesn't even look at you as she points to the nearest one that glides past the glass - its mostly orange with what look to you like blue-ish stripes. "They're called Gouramis," She tells you, and you've never heard her sound so... _fascinated_ by something before now, "I think these are dwarf ones, there's not many of them in here"

You lean back to read the small sign in front of the tank, and nod along to what she's saying. "Yeah, they're Dwarf Gouramis, these ones are from India" You confirm, and look back only to find Siren watching you curiously.

"How do you know they're from India?"

"I read the sign," You snort quietly, pointing to the one you mean. Apparently, she hadn't even realised it was there judging by how her eyebrows raise and her lips part in a silent _'oh'_. But, if she hadn't read the sign, then.. "Did you memorise what kind of fish these all are?"  
She's been pointing out all the different fish to you, each by name, and so far hasn't been wrong once. You'd just assumed she'd been reading the signs on each of the tanks, but apparently not.

"Most, not all - I like the ocean and things that live in it, people know less about it than they do space," As she explains, Siren guides you to the next room. It's much brighter lit with the sunlight filtering in from outside, and a big, shallow tank with no roof sits in the middle of the room. "And I want to know more about it, so I learn all I can"

"That's really cool - it's nice to see you so passionate about something," You're pretty sure that the compliment was the cause for that milisecond fault in her step, and she abruptly looks away from you in favor of studying the middle tank instead. Hm. "Did you learn all that through books, or?"

"Videos _et documentairs_ , I-" She hesitates, you notice, as she comes to a stop by the glass and leans a little ways over it. She lets go of your hand to instead tap her fingers against the top of the tank. "I.. Can't read"

That... Explains so much. You're much less surprised than you probably should be. So, you just give a nod and hum of acknowledgement, not making a big deal out of it. Siren seems to appreciate this.  
The tank in front of you contains a few less colourful fish, but also some small mantarays that skim across the sandy floor. You can see one or two of them poke their heads out of the water on the other side of the tank, and you can't help but grin when a child waves back at them. Looking around, though.. Someone seems to be missing.

"Hey, Siren? Where'd your sister go?"

"Who knows - but she'll come back. She always comes back"

\--

If you learn nothing else today, you've at least learnt that Siren's favorite animals are jellyfish. She spent over half an hour in just their section, spouting different pieces of information about them left and right. It was cute to see her so happy and willing to open up a bit, but you had to admit that you were getting kinda bored of just standing and watching some plastic bag mimics float about, as pretty as some of them were.  
So you'd told her you were going to find Bubbles and Vani by the sharks.

Instead, you walked headfirst into Rus when you both rounded a corner at the same time.

"Shit, sorry!" You're quick to apologise, stepping out of her personal space as quickly as you can. You do not need Vani throwing any more boob jokes at you, thank you very much. You're a little more disorientated than you first thought, though, and stumble a bit when you step back. Surprisingly enough, a hand rests on your shoulder to steady you.

"It's fine," You notice Rus is holding something behind her back, and have to resist the urge to lean sideways to try and see what it is. She lets go of your shoulder once you've regained your balance, and glances around quickly before her gaze settles on you again, "D'you know where my sister is?"

"Jellyfish" Is your simple answer, accompanied by a jerk of your thumb over your shoulder, pointing back the way you came. The quiet snort and "Of course" you get in reply makes you grin.  
She sidesteps around you, and you think that's the interaction done with, but then she hesitates after a few steps before turning back to you.

"Hey, uh.." She avoids eye contact as much as she can, and shifts her weight almost restlessly from one foot to the other, "Thanks for keeping her company, she told me that she had fun yesterday. And I know I've kinda been an asshole, but just.. You wouldn't understand if I told you why, but-" Rus pauses, and finally meets your eyes, "My sister and I didn't grow up in the safest place ever, someone new could mean really bad news if you trusted them quickly. I know it's different here, and I'm- I'm trying, it's just... Difficult"  
With that, and a somewhat awkward nod to you, she turns and leaves. Well, it's not an apology, but at least she's acknowledged the fact that she hasn't been particularly nice to you, and you know a bit more about why she's like that now. That's a start.

And, who knows, maybe she's gonna try to be nicer from now on - either way, you appreciate her being honest with you about it, and make a mental note to thank her for that next time you get her alone. For now, though, you've got some sharks to find.

 

Shark finding proves to be easy - you just follow the excited kids urging their parents to walk faster so they can go see the cool scary fish. Finding your neighbors proves to be pretty easy, too, considering that as soon as you walk out onto the bridge you spot Bubbles leaning over the railing and pointing at something, while Vani stands idly to the side, nodding along to whatever it is she's saying.  
You make your way over to them, and have about three seconds to regret your life choices before you're spotted and almost bowled over by the whirlwind of energy you've come to know as Bubbles.

"There you are!! You took so long, we've been waiting ages!" She chatters at you as she pulls you back over to where Vani is waiting, and you can only offer a small wave seeing as most of the breath got knocked out of you just a few seconds ago. She seems to understand your pain, nodding solemnly. Bubbles either doesn't notice or doesn't acknowledge the look you share.

"Sorry, got waylaid by jellyfish," You explain once she stops pulling you, "You didn't have to stay here the entire time, though, if you were bored you could've looked at something else"

"Well _yeah,_ but sharks are cool and we don't mind waiting! Besides, I wanted to hang out with you, since we didn't get to yesterday," Bubbles simply shrugs, grinning goodnaturedly at you before leaning back over the railing and pointing to a hammerhead shark that's passing under the bridge. "Look, see! They have all sorts'a cool stuff"  
You have to admit, it is pretty cool to see them so close. As you lean over to get a better look, Vani pipes up a few steps away.

"It'd be even cooler bein' under them, don'cha think? There's a tunnel underneath that you can walk through" Bubbles jerks to attention at this, and you can see her beginning to bounce on the balls of her feet again. You straighten up as well and see that what Vani said is true - the bridge you're on slopes downwards and curves once it leads you inside, making the entrance to the tunnel.

"Then what are we waiting for!" Your hand is once again seized, and you manage to grab Vani's on your way past to drag her along too. You refuse to suffer alone.

Bubbles pulls you both down the bridge and into the tunnel, not giving you any chance to adjust to the lighting change as she charges through. You have to hand it to her, though, you've never seen someone dodge people so expertly while going that fast _and_ dragging two people behind her. You're still inclined to call out a few "Sorry!"s to the near-misses, though.  
She doesn't stop until she finds a part of the tunnel she deems suitable for shark spotting, at which point you're out of breath and kind of want to sit down for a bit. Vani seems to be in the same condition, but Bubbles hasn't even broken a sweat.

"You're right, this is so much better!" At least she's happy, you think, as she proceeds to grin and point excitedly to each and every shark that passes by. She doesn't know the names of all of them like you expect Siren would, but you can tell she likes them all the same.  
And, really, you can't find it in you to be annoyed anymore. Once you catch your breath again, you end up stood in place for a while just admiring the atmosphere that comes with being in the underwater tunnel. Sunlight is filtering through the water above, shimmering on scales and creating patterns on your and your friends' faces. The massive tank is decorated beautifully, filled with corals and shells and sand, and it's entertaining to watch the small fish zip in and out of the rock constructs at the bottom of the tank.

"Those are leopard sharks," You hear a familiar accented voice behind you, and turn to see Siren staring up at one of the smaller sharks passing overhead. Rus is beside her, hands in her pockets and watching the various fish as well. You figured it wouldn't be long before they got here. 

Bubbles hears her too, apparently, since she's quick to bound over to her friend and point to the shark in question. "Those ones? They're like, the smallest ones in here"

"They're harmless to humans, and get spooked almost as easily as your sister"

While they chatter back and forth with eachother, you notice that Siren is carrying something now. It must be what Rus had behind her back when you ran into her earlier - a jellyfish plushie with various swirling patterns stitched onto it and tendrils of different kinds of fabric attached to the bottom. It occurs to you that she must've gone to buy it for her almost as soon as you all went inside; that thought makes you smile.

"D'ya think they find it as entertaining to watch us as it is for us to watch them?" Vani's question draws your attention, and you give her a look that she snorts at. "What? It's a valid question"

"I mean, I guess that's possible" You shrug, stepping closer to stand next to her. "I've never really thought about it like that before"

You don't get much time to think about it, either, since Bubbles is next to demand your attention. And everyone's attention, apparently. "Hey! There's a snack bar, remember? Why don't we get some food, then maybe come back, orr.. Go find out what everyone else is doing!" Her suggestion is met with various mumurs of agreement from your group, so you shrug and go along with it. Snacks sound good. You want to find whatever giftshop Rus got that plushie from, too.

With Bubbles and Siren once again leading the way, you follow after them with Vani at your side and Rus on your heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> college starts in two days so i wanted to finish this before i mentally die ="D
> 
> i hope you guys like it, though!! it was very fun to write, you can probably tell why
> 
> as always, feedback is immensely appreciated, and i'm gonna do my best to reply to all the comments from now on <3 <3


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * A new player joins the game.

You idly spin the keychain you bought around your finger as you wait for the elevator doors to open, although the small plastic shark keeps hitting your palm and making it difficult to keep spinning it. Still, you trap it in your hand once the doors open, and go to step out before Bubbles takes your free hand and strides purposefully in front of you. You don’t have much of a choice but to follow her.

You’d ended up spending quite some time at the aquarium - particularly the snack bar located on the roof that gave you a pretty neat view of the city below. After that, your group had just wandered about the streets for a bit before returning to the hotel. You got a cute lil’ shark keyring, too.  
“Hey, Vani, you have your room key with you, right?” Bubbles slows and looks over her shoulder, and you copy her actions to see Vani shove a hand in her pocket and thn pull out a card between two fingers and wordlessly wave it in front of herself.

“Cool, gimme-“ Your hand is released and Bubbles reaches for the card, but Vani is quick to move it away.

“Hey, no, hold up - why d’you need my key?”

“To get (Y/N)’s bag to put it in my room because they’re sleeping with me tonight!” Oh yeah, you’d said you were gonna change rooms tonight. That’s probably for the best - you don’t need a repeat of last night. Vani seems about to relent, but before she can hand Bubbles the card, Rus sidesteps from behind her and quite easily takes it out of her hand.

“Hey-!”

“Rus-!”

With what’s probably the most impish grin you’ve ever seen on a person, Rus dodges both lunges at her and books it down the hallway, keycard in hand. Vani gives up on chasing her after a few steps, but Bubbles charges after her with a shout of _”Why are you like this?!”_  
You find yourself snickering at the two, while Siren moves to stand next to you and Vani stares after them with a defeated expression. She’s probably not getting that card back for a while.

While she’s still ahead, Rus glances back before skidding abruptly to a stop in front of one of the rooms, swiping the card over the lock and opening the door as quickly as she can. Before she can close it behind her all the way, Bubbles catches up and shoulders her way in as well. There’s a shout and then silence after the door closes, and you figure it’d probably be best to get them out before they mess up the room. Given how chaotic you know Bubbles can be, it isn’t too difficult to imagine how quickly she could make a mess of Vani and Angel’s stuff. Or anyone’s stuff, really; you’ve seen how unorganized parts of her room are.

“Why does this happen every time we come here?” You hear Vani mutter as she passes you, taking the lead to her room. Siren must’ve heard her too, as she trots up beside her to nudge her arm.

“Better question: why haven’t we been banned yet?”

Vani huffs a laugh, and you find that you’re grinning slightly too as you follow behind them. Yeah, it really is kind of a miracle they haven’t been banned yet - they’re not exactly the quietest group ever.  
While you walk, Siren looks back at you with a raised eyebrow. “You’re sleeping with Bubbles _et_ Ri tonight?” She asks, slowing down to walk beside you instead.

“Yeah, I told her I would; pretty sure I can’t get out of it now even if I wanted to” You grin as your confirmation makes her smile. Her smiled are always kinda crooked, you notice. You also notice how her expression changes to a thoughtful one, then a slightly mischievous one.

“I recommend you don’t sleep next to Bubbles”

“Why not?”

“Just trust me, I share a room with her”

You don’t get chance to question her further, as you almost walk right into Vani as she’s stood in front of the bedroom door. She knocks, and there’s a couple muffled footsteps, but no one opens the door.  
Huffing, she knocks again.

“Who’s there?” You’re pretty sure that’s Rus on the other side. It’s slightly difficult to tell from the scuffling that’s now going on - what are they doing in there?

“Hm... Lettuce” Vani responds, putting her hand back in her pocket.

“Lettuce wh-“

“Boo! Everyone knows that one!” Bubbles chimes in now, and you have to agree with her - it’s a pretty overused joke.

“Exactly, so _lettuce_ in”

Surprisingly, this works.

The door clicks open about the same time that a muted ’thud’ sounds on the other side, and you push open the door to find both the runaways on the floor. Rus is trying desperately to keep the card out of Bubbles’ reach, the latter of which is doing her best to avoid getting slapped and/or kicked in the face. With a snort, you bend down and pluck the card out of Rus’ hand.  
She looks up when you do, looking fully prepared to say something, then apparently thinks better of it and just sticks her tongue out at you. You return the favor as you give Vani her card back.

“Well that was completely unnecessary, thanks Rus” Vani steps over the two on the floor, instead going to sit on the bed. By the looks of it, they may have tried to jump over it when they first got in the room.

“Unnecessary is my specialty”

“I thought stupid was your specialty” Siren is fast to quip back at her sister, even as she crouches in front of her with a teasing grin. From where she has now given up on moving and is laying facedown on the floor, Bubbles snorts at the exchange.

“That too - stupid unnecessary shit” Rus makes no move to get up either, so you step around her to grab your bag. Anything you’d taken out the night before, you’d already put back in, so you’re ready to change rooms whenever.

“Sometimes stupid unnecessary shit is fun, though - or entertaining, at least” You offer, hefting your bag onto your shoulder. Although she doesn’t look at you, Rus lifts an arm to point to you.

“Yeah, see? I can be useful”

“Please don’t encourage her” 

“Anyone know where the others went?” Vani speaks up again, having shifted to now lay against a few propped up pillow on the bed. Still on the floor, Bubbles pulls her phone out of her pocket and rolls over to lay on her back instead.

“Angel’s downstairs in the dining area, Ruby an’ Ri are with her if these texts are anything to go by - I think they’re taking bets on how many cups of coffee Angel’s had today,” She reports, “I dunno where Fell is”

Sighing, Vani sits up and slides off the bed, nudging Rus with her foot as she steps closer to the door. “Nice to know where their priorities are; I gotta stop them before Angel takes it as a challenge,” She pauses at the door, opening it and gesturing outside. “The rest of you, out”

There are various protests, particularly from the floor’s general area, but they all comply and you follow them out.

You hear Siren and Rus exchange a few words, but you can’t for the life of you pick out anything you might recognize when they talk that fast. You do see Rus slip another keycard out of her pocket, though, and hand it to Siren before she turns to Vani. “I’ll come with you, ‘m kinda hungry”

Vani nods and closes the door behind her, beginning to walk back to the elevator before she pauses and half-turns to you. “In case I don’t see ya again ‘til tomorrow, g’night, sleep well” She gives you that small lopsided smile again, and you find yourself smiling in return.

“Thanks, you too” She nods and sets off again, while Rus follows behind her. The latter swivels around on her heel to give you a quick farewell salute, but otherwise says nothing as she leaves.  
Your hand is once again seized, and you glance to the side at Bubbles, who’s looking particularly excited.

“Soooo... My room now? It’s gonna be like a sleepover!” 

You give a short laugh as she begins to impatiently tug you down the hall again, and quickly wave goodbye to Siren as she heads in the opposite direction before allowing yourself to be guided. “Sure - although, if you fall asleep as quick as Vani does then I dunno how much of a typical sleepover it’s gonna be”  
For some reason, that makes her pause for just a fraction of a second. She continues on after as if it didn’t happen, though, so you don’t question the fault in her step.

“Aw, c’mon - this energy’s gotta come from _somewhere”_ She looks over her shoulder at you with a grin, and you shrug in agreement. Yeah, you wouldn’t be surprised if Bubbles sleeps a lot considering how energized she is during the day. Maybe you can get her to share her secrets with you, because you can never seem to be that energetic no matter how much you sleep.

—

Ri came back to the room eventually, calling good night to the others over her shoulder before closing the door behind her. You’d already changed by that point, and were comfortably nestled under the covers, resting your cheek on Bubbles’ shoulder as you watched her play some kind of puzzle game on her phone.

By the time all three of you are ready for bed, you’re just about asleep. And then you remember Siren’s warning.

You try to subtly shift to one side of the bed so that Ri will sleep in the middle, but it’s too late - she flops onto the mattress beside you, keeping you between her and Bubbles (Who’s already asleep. Damn).  
When you try to wriggle further to one side, Ri lifts her head up slightly to watch you, then gives a somewhat sleepy grin before twisting to wrap an arm around you, trapping you in place. Oh dear.

Well.. It’s not like there’d be much space between you no matter where you moved, and maybe Siren only said that to mess with you. Yeah, it’ll be fine - you just want to sleep now.

With Ri’s arm keeping you firmly in place against her, you shift to get a bit more comfortable, then relax and allow yourself to drift off again. You only vaguely register the mumbled “G’night” behind you, and respond with a quiet “Night” of your own before falling asleep.

 

You seem to be having bad luck sleeping these past few days; you wake up again in the middle of the night, dazed and tired and wondering what exactly woke you up this time.

And then it hits you. Quite literally.

Something hits your leg, and you jerk a bit before trying to sit up to see what’s going on. You can’t, though - Ri hasn’t moved and her arm is still around you, so your movements are limited. You can just make out her very light snoring behind you.  
Bubbles has moved, though. She’s facing you now, but seems to be sleeping pretty restlessly if the shifting and quiet mumbling is anything to go by.

You’re pretty sure she’s just babbling nonsense, but after a moment your eyes adjust to the darkness of the room and you can make out the furrow in her eyebrows and how the corners of her mouth are pulled into a weak grimace. Is she... Having a nightmare?

Something hits your leg again, but you can tell what it is now. So _that’s_ why Siren warned you: Bubbles kicks in her sleep. Or maybe it’s just because she’s having a bad dream.  
Either way, you’d rather not have your leg used as a punching (kicking?) bag, so you go with the first thing you think of. Previous evidence shows that this is by no means a good idea, but it’s the middle of the night and you just want to go back to sleep.

So, you wriggle your arms out from under yourself and Ri’s arm, and reach forward to drag Bubbles towards you. Maybe you can just, like... Trap her legs under yours. Yeah. That’ll work.  
She’s still fairly restless in your hold, but you keep her as close as you can and make sure your legs stay over hers before you fall asleep again. With any luck, you won’t have legs full of bruises in the morning.

—

You wake up in a mess of limbs.  
It’s not _too_ bad - at least you haven’t been kicked again and the sisters are comfortably warm. Someone’s hair is in your face, though.

You have no idea what time it is, either - you’re too trapped to slip out and look at your phone, all you can do is guess that it’s about mid-morning judging by the sounds outside. When the person nestled between your arms shifts, you glance down just as she looks up at you, blinking owlishly. Then, with what you can only assume is a mental “fuck it” on her part, she vaguely shrugs and cuddles up closer to you.  
With a quiet _’snrk’_ , you decide to roll with it, and let yourself relax into the soft bedding again. It’s surprisingly nice, platonically cuddling with people.

Or, it would be, if it wasn’t interrupted by knocking on the door.

Ri groans tiredly behind you at the noise, pulling herself closer to you as she tightens her hold and making a valiant effort of ignoring whoever’s outside. But the knocking is insistent, and Bubbles ends up sighing in defeat as well before detaching herself from you and rolling onto her back.

“Are you guys awake yet? We have to be out of the rooms in about half an hour, it’s ten already” Angel’s voice sounds muffled through the door, and the only reply you can produce is a sound of acknowledgement that you doubt she heard. Bubbles sits up, though, and verbalises your thoughts for you.

“Okaaay, we’re awake, please shut th’fuck up”

Ri shifts her arm in what you think is an attempt to swat her sister’s leg, and she mutters “Rude” at the same time that Angel comments the same thing through the door. Nevertheless, it works - the knocking has stopped, and you assume Angel has left.

You heave a sigh, and try to sit up, but Ri is rather clingy - she holds onto you tighter, even swinging her leg over your thighs for good measure. As much as you’d like to stay in bed and sleep more, you should get up. Ri doesn’t seem to like this idea, and you’re tempted to agree with her.

 

Bubbles eventually urged both of you up once she got out of the bathroom, and successfully herded you and Ri downstairs to meet the others. You’re still not completely awake, but everyone else seems fine.

“So are we heading back right now, or?” You ask once you’re within earshot of the rest of the group. Most of them turn to you when they hear you, but Fell and Rus are talking about something and Ruby is still doing a pretty good job of pretending you don’t exist. Oh well, you can live with that. It’s a shame you didn’t get more time to talk to her during this trip, though.

“We were thinkin’ of stopping at a bar we know to get some food first, if that’s good by you” Vani explains, and you nod. Food is good, food is definitely good.

“Shall we go, then?” Angel offers you her arm, and you take it with a grin, letting her take the lead. Ri jogs up beside you, and links to your free arm when you lift it slightly for her. You’re probably just gonna have to get used to this much physical contact.

The walk there takes a few minutes, but you find your entertainment in listening to Siren and Fell bicker behind you, and Ri occasionally tugging on your arm to point out a sign or shop to then make a joke about it.  
Angel leaves your side as you near what you assume is your destination, hanging back a bit to say something you don’t quite catch to her sister. All the girls except Fell and Angel seem pleased at the choice of bar. 

The light-up sign is turned off since it’s daytime, but you can still clearly see the _’Grillby’s’_ that it displays, and see various people - both humans and monsters - inside through the windows. It looks like a pretty nice place.

As you’re guided through the doors of the bar, the rest of your group make a beeline for one of the booths. One of the booths that.. Are most definitely _not_ meant for nine people. You’re about to voice these concerns as you approach the table, but apparently it’s a bit late for that. Ri has let go of your arm and practically launched herself into a seat as close to the wall as possible with Rus on her lap, Ruby is perched on the edge of the table on the other side, and you’re pretty sure they’re gonna get you all kicked out if this keeps up. Oh well, might as well enjoy it while it lasts - it’s a nice bar.

“Something tells me you guys’ve done this before” You try for a grin as you gesture loosely to how the girls have all but crammed themselves into the available space. Bubbles is now trapped between her sister and Vani, and on the opposite side Fell is swatting away Ruby’s feet while Angel sits as close to her as possible to make room for you and Siren. Their various bags have either been tossed onto the table or stashed by their feet - you put your own down by the leg of the table, as out of the way as you can get it. Your remark about their seating arrangement scores you a few laughs.

“Let’s just say the guy who runs the place is familiar with us” Vani shrugs, her grin matching yours as she leans back in her seat. There’s probably enough space for you to perch on the end, actually - you’re about to ask if you can sit there when Rus pipes up from by the wall.

“Not because the last time we came here we hijaked the jukebox or anything,” Both she and Ri seem to be trying very hard not to laugh at this, “Definitely not”

“What, you pulled a John Mulaney on everyone-?”

“Don’t give them ideas!” Bubbles cuts you off with a jokingly urgent tone, waving her hands before slamming them down on the table. “I say we get food already, I’m hungry!”  
Ruby is very quick to agree with her, and her confirmation of “Food!” is met with repeated bangs on the table from Bubbles - they’re quick to start chanting while Rus joins in and you’re pretty sure Angel is internally screaming.

Being one of the only ones able to actually get out of her seat, Vani sighs and stands. Her hands are quick to seek out the pockets of her hoodie, and she looks at the others - three of which are still chanting - with mock exhaustion. Or maybe it’s real exhaustion; as much as you enjoy the girls’ company, you can understand how living with them could be tiring.  
Her question of “The usual?” is met with various confirmations, and also successfully replaces the chanting with cheers. She rolls her eyes with a patient smile, before turning to head to the bar. You take the moment of eye contact and raised eyebrow as a silent invitation, and follow her after a brief look back at the rest of the girls. They’re animatedly chatting amongst themselves now.

“You can choose whatever you want from the menu over there,” Vani gestures to a small chalkboard pinned up on the wall by the bar once you fall in step beside her, “Or if you’d rather share with us, that’s fine too - s’what we do either way”  
While it’s nice of her to offer sharing, you don’t know what they’re getting - it might be a good idea to figure that out first.

“Thanks, but uh- what does ‘the usual’ entail?” You choose to lean against the counter instead of taking a seat on one of the stools like Vani does. There wasn’t - and still isn’t - anyone behind the bar when you first came in, so you can only assume they’re doing something in the back. Your attention is drawn back to your friend as she huffs a quiet laugh.

“Fries and burgers, and sauce” She’s grinning as she pillows her head in her arms, looking at you out of the corner of her eye. “They’re the best things to order, in my not-so-professional opinion”

Probably not the healthiest choice for your first meal of the day, but that sounds pretty good - you might share with them after all.

The door to what you assume is the kitchen opens, demanding your attention with the abrupt squeak of its hinges, and out walks something - someone? - you never thought you’d see. That’s... That’s a _fire_ wearing a _bartender’s uniform._  
It occurs to you that they must be a monster, and you avert your gaze in an attempt to not be rude. In your defense, the way their flames move is borderline hypnotic, and don’t burn your eyes like you’d subconsciously expected.

“That’s Grillby, he owns the place,” Vani seems to have noticed your reaction to the fire elemental’s entrance, if her shifting to prop her chin up on her hand and widening grin is anything to go by. “For a guy so _hot_ , he’s pretty _chill_ ”  
She says this loud enough for others to hear, and while you don’t grace her with a response (apart from a deadpan stare), her voice seems to be recognized by Grillby. You didn’t think it was possible for someone without a visible face to look so.. _done_ with someone. You’re almost tempted to laugh.

He sets down the plate of fries he’d been carrying in front of someone sat a few seats down from you, before making his way over to you and Vani. You do your best not to stare again.

“Hey buddy, ya miss us?” Vani’s grin is absolutely shit eating now, you notice, as Grillby makes a gesture with his hand that you’re pretty sure means ‘please just get on with it and leave’. You don’t blame him for being fed up with your neighbors, if what Rus told you was true. “Fair ‘nough - the usual, please. And, uh, were you gonna order something different, or?”  
She glances at you with a raised eyebrow, and you shake your head.

“I’ll share with you guys, if that’s okay”

“A’ight - just the usual, then” With that, Grillby nods and exits the way he entered - promptly ignoring Vani’s badly hidden giggles. You don’t, though; you’ve never actually heard Vani giggle before this point. It’s kinda cute.

She notices you grinning at her, and shrugs, “He loves us really”

“Somehow, I doubt that”

With a snort, she slips off the barstool and briefly glances over her shoulder. “I’m gonna go get those condiments I mentioned - doubt the others’ll think to get them beforehand,” She nods towards the small station set up, filled with various bottles of sauce, cutlery, and salt & pepper shakers. Once you nod and she goes to leave, she pivots on her heel after a few steps to face you again. “Oh, and when he gets back, give my _condiments_ to the chef”

You bark a laugh at that one, and she looks pleased as she turns back around. While you’re waiting, you decide to sit on the nearest stool instead of standing. Considering how many of the girls there are, how long is the food going to take? Do they even have one thing each? Vani _did_ mention that they share with eachother anyways-

“Well hey there, what’s a pretty thing like you doin’ at a joint like this?” You hadn’t noticed the only other person at the bar switch seats to be closer to you as soon as Vani left. Now, they’re directly next to you, and you suddenly regret sitting down.  
They’re a human too, but they’re giving off the kind of vibe that’s setting off warning bells in the back of your mind. When you don’t answer, they just shift closer and nudge their plate of fries towards you, encouraging you to shift away from them. “How ‘bout you share with me instead and ditch the fatty?”

After a few seconds of wordlessly opening and closing your mouth, you manage to find your voice again. “She’s my friend, I’m not ditching her - please leave me alone” This has never happened to you before, you’re at a loss for what to do other than make it clear your answer is ‘no’.  
Continuing to inch back in your seat, you glance over at your friends to try and catch one of their eyes, to see if they notice and can help you, but they’re still talking. Vani is at the table now too, but her back is turned to you.

“Aw, c’mon-“ A hand is placed on your thigh, and in exactly the same moment someone steps between you. A bandaged hand is slammed down on the counter with enough force to rattle the plate of fries, and to startle the offending person into taking their hand off your leg. The sudden appearance also makes you jump and almost fall off your seat.

You look up at whoever had gotten in between the situation, and are rendered as speechless as you were before. A tall girl, practically swamped by the oversized bomber jacket she wears, with an absolutely _furious_ gaze directed at the person who’d been making you uncomfortable is stood in front of you.  
Fortunately, they’re quick to get the message even though the girl says nothing, and take their fries before sulking over to a different seat away from the bar.

Your savior watches them leave before finally relaxing, and a much softer look is given to you as she removes her hand. At this new angle, you can see how her eyes are two different colours - blue and brown - and it takes every shred of self control not to stare. Especially considering she has two painful looking scars on her face; the left scoring a line down from her eye to the edge of her mouth, and the right reaching up all the way to her hairline.  
You almost miss the gestures she makes with her hands, and it takes your brain a few moments to catch up and figure out that she’s trying to sign something to you.

“Thank- um, thank you for that, I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up,” Your mouth is dry and you’re not doing a very good job of playing off the fear that had settled over you from the events that had just gone down, but you give speaking your best shot. “But, uh, I don’t know sign, I’m sorry”

Luckily, she seems to have been expecting this answer - she shrugs off the bag that had been hanging on her shoulder, and from one of its pockets pulls out a small notebook with a pen stuck through the rings that hold it together. She flips it open and writes something quicker than you thought possible, then shows it to you.

_’are you okay?’_

Oh. “Oh! Yeah- uhh, yeah, yeah I’ll be fine, thanks - I should.. Probably get back to my friends, or something-“

“Zia?”

Both you and the girl turn to Vani as she approaches, and something clicks in your mind. You look back at the newcomer just as she gives a small wave to your friend, _”You’re_ Zia?” You’d begun to think that you’d never meet the ninth member of your neighbors’ group, and yet here she is.

“She’s Zia,” Vani confirms with a quiet chuckle, stopping in front of you both. Zia is quick to put her pen down and use both hands to sign something rapid-fire to Vani, which you’re not sure you’d be able to understand even if you did know sign language. Vani, however, seems to understand perfectly judging by the way her grin drops and her eyebrows furrow. You gather that what just happened is being relayed to her.

“Shit - you okay?” She turns to you, and you can’t help a smile at the fact that she’s concerned for you. It’s nice to know people care.

“I’ll be fine - she scared ‘em off” With a shaky huff of a laugh, you nod your head in the direction that the offender went off in, and after glancing that way Vani turns to look over her shoulder at the rest of your neighbors.

“Why don’t you go wait with the others, and I’ll bring the food over when it’s ready?”

You would’ve been fine staying at the bar now that you’re not on your own, but that sounded less like a question and more like a statement. So, with a grateful smile to both of them, you get up and start walking back to the crammed booth of girls, pausing to give a quiet “Thanks” to Vani as you pass.  
You miss how Zia and Vani exchange a few more words (gestures, in Zia’s case), but don’t miss the sound of footsteps behind you. A quick glance over your shoulder shows you that Zia must be coming back to the table with you.

You’re about to slow down a little to walk beside her, but as soon as you’re both within five feet of the table you hear someone bang their hands on its surface and yell _“Zia!”_

You guess that it’s Bubbles, by how she wriggles under the table to avoid pushing Siren out of her seat (she must’ve switched when you were at the bar) and practically throws herself at Zia as soon as she’s free. You barely dodge an arm when they both stumble back. This must happen a lot, you gather, since Zia doesn’t seem too fazed by this particular invasion of personal space. A chorus of quieter “Hey”s and “Hi Zia”s come from the rest of the girls, but none of them make an effort to get up.

“You didn’t answer my texts, you butt! You’re as bad as Vani!” While Zia is preoccupied with keeping them both upright, Bubbles has no such concerns. She’s jumped up to cling to her friend’s shoulders, lifting her feet off the ground and consequentially putting all of her weight onto Zia. “And you can’t use the no service excuse, I know you’ve been in the city since at least yesterday!”

She refuses to let go even as Zia leans forward, instead staying latched onto her jacket and standing on her toes. She does, however, let go when Zia moves an arm to gently jab her side. With a pout, Bubbles detaches and steps back with her arms now crossed, watching attentively as her friend begins to sign something to her. She’s signing slower than she did with Vani, you notice.

“Mmmmkay _fine_ , I forgive you on the condition that you show me the book!” Bubbles’ reluctant acceptance is met with a quiet huff of a laugh, and you choose that moment to take a seat now that no one’s in danger of being tackled to the ground.  
Siren shifts closer to Ri when you approach, making room for you to sit next to her. There’s not much space on this side of the table now, but Bubbles sits next to you anyways. She’s halfway on your lap, so you mentally shrug and pull her the rest of the way, resting your chin on her shoulder and batting her hair out of your face. It’s a loosing battle until she pulls the last few curly strands behind her ear for you.

On the opposite side of the table, Angel is now stuck between Fell and Zia - the latter of which is pulling what looks like some kind of journal out of her bag. It’s covered in doodles, and various post-it notes and pieces of paper are sticking out between the pages. She pushes it across the table to Bubbles, who makes grabby hands for it until it’s within her reach.  
“So where were you this time?” She asks, eagerly flipping through the pages. From what you can see, there’s writing on some of them, and drawings and what looks like watercolour paintings on others. Zia leans forwards to flip a few of the pages, before stopping on one of them and pointing to a painting of some ruins that are labelled _‘Greece - Olympia’_.

There’s various snippets of writing on the opposite page, along with less detailed sketches of columns and statues, and you shift in your seat to get a better look. Siren looks over as well, subtly dragging the corner of the book closer to her.

“You drew these?” You find yourself asking, glancing up to look at the newest addition to your group. She gives a simple nod, before shifting slightly to turn more towards Angel as you look back down at the journal. The paintings are simplistic and the sketches are kinda messy, but you can easily pick out what they’re meant to be. You skim over a few of the notes, too; most of them are bits of information about the ruins, but there are some that sound a bit like poems or lyrics.

Two plates are then set down on the table, and you look up again to see that Vani has returned. Almost in sync, Ri and Ruby each lunge forwards to snag a handful of fries, while Bubbles makes a noise of protest and Fell slaps her sister’s hand for her bad manners.  
You snort quietly at the interaction, and are about to reach around Bubbles to take a fry or two yourself when a last plate is placed nearer to you. Grillby nods to you when you give him a smile and polite “Thanks!”, then turns to head back to his station at the bar. 

He doesn’t get too far, though - Rus spots him and grins before calling “Hey, thanks _mec du feu!_ ”. While Siren throws a fry at her sister’s face, Grillby looks over his shoulder at her and uses two fingers to gesture to his eyes (glasses?), then her in an ‘I’m watching you’ gesture before leaving. You’re not entirely sure, but you think you may have seen a jagged line of white part the fire on his face - a smile, maybe?

“What? He’s a fire guy” While Rus picks the fry that got thrown at her up and tries to dissuade her sister from throwing more at the same time, you notice that during the exchange someone’s dragged the plate away from you, and you can’t reach any of them with Bubbles on your lap now. Unacceptable, you want food.

With perhaps a little more enthusiasm than is necessary, you lean around Bubbles and reach towards the nearest plate, earning a small handful of fries for your efforts. Noticing your struggle, Bubbles shuffles over to sit on Siren’s lap instead, ignoring her friend’s protests with a shit eating grin. You can’t help but grin as well, making another dive for one specific fry before someone else takes it.

While the two next to you look through Zia’s book, you watch as the rest of the girls quite happily converse with eachother. Angel has a milkshake in front of her, although she’s not touching any of the other food. She’s focused more on whatever Zia is writing, occasionally adding in a comment of her own and responding to the written parts of their conversation.  
Fell seems to be preoccupied with her sister, making a dedicated effort to snatch what looks like a bottle of mustard out of her hands. It’s a loosing battle, though - Ruby keeps cheating by leaning back and handing the bottle to Rus whenever Fell gets close.

Vani has pulled up a spare chair from one of the other tables, and seems to be doing much the same as you as she watches the others, occasionally snagging a few fries from the nearest plate. She has the luck of being near the one with the burger, too - you consider taking the other half that she left after cutting one for herself.

 _”Oye, oye,_ Vani,” Instead, you look back to Ruby as she takes the bottle of mustard again. Judging by the grin on her face, something is about to go horribly wrong. “Ten bucks, I’m gonna take your title”

You vaguely remember them both mentioning some kind of ‘competition’ the last time you were at their house - is this what they meant? You’re not sure if you want to know the answer, if the suddenly disgusted look on Fell’s face is anything to go by.

Nevertheless, Vani raises an eyebrow, and lifts her chin up in an almost challenging manner. “Oh yeah? Go for it, see if you can beat the champion”

Their conversation has drawn everyone else at the table’s attention now, particularly Bubbles and Siren, who’re watching attentively. Beside them, Ri leans back to look at you briefly. “This is gonna be gross, we’re sorry in advance” Oh boy.

You can only look on in horror and morbid curiosity as Ruby ups the bottle, doing her best to drink it directly. She doesn’t get too far - Fell sabotaged her by not-so-gently whacking her stomach. You like to think that she’s lucky Ruby doesn’t spit anything out when she coughs.

_“¡Eso es **horrible** , no puedes hacerlo en público!”_

_”Ay- ¡’mana! ¡Me hiciste perder!”_

“Welp, no ten bucks for you, and I keep my title of champion” Vani seems very smug about this, completely unaffected by the fact that her friend just tried to drink mustard straight from the bottle. 

“Hey, no, she made me lose! Thas’ against the rules!” Despite her arguing, Ruby seems to have accepted defeat - at least she has the decency to wipe the nozzle with a tissue before putting it back down and cleaning any remaining drops from around her mouth. Vani simply shrugs, grinning.

It’s then Siren who speaks up, grabbing a bottle of barbecue sauce and staring Vani down. “Twenty” She states, and the table falls silent.

... _Oh no._

If ten was the demand for whatever Ruby was trying to do, you really don’t want to find out what twenty dollars is a reward for. Actually, you kinda do. Morbid curiosity is a bitch.

Still, you don’t think anything you’ve picked up from the girls could’ve prepared you for how effortlessly Siren downs _the entire bottle,_ maintaining direct eye contact with Vani the entire time.

When she’s done, she all but slams the empty bottle on the table, basking in the various shocked and kind-of-impressed faces from the rest of your group. She glances at Rus, particularly, for a moment, who shakes her head in what you think is mock disgust.

Knowing when she’s lost, Vani heaves a sigh that sounds a bit more like a laugh than she probably intended, and leans down to grab her bag. After searching around in it for a few seconds, she pulls out a crumpled bill, which Siren quickly pockets.  
“... Let me guess, this is another reason why Grillby isn’t too _hot_ with you guys” You try your luck at breaking the silence (which isn’t really silence, considering the noise from the rest of the customers), and for a moment there’s no response, before Ruby of all people snorts and starts laughing, a few of the others soon joining in.

You take that as a personal achievement.

“To be honest, I think he’s used to it” You hear Ri comment, and resist the urge to ask just how often they make bets on who can drink the most condiments.  
You’re not sure if you can look at Siren (or Ruby) in entirely the same light now.

 

The remaining food is quick to disappear with so many people, and it feels like you’ve only spent a couple minutes at the bar when you stand up and pull your bag back onto your shoulder. Vani went back up to the bar for a few minutes, you assume to pay, while the rest of you take your leave, though she meets you outside again in little time.  
Zia hasn’t left the group, and you end up walking beside her at one point.

“So, are you staying with them for a while?” You ask, and recieve a nod in reply. She doesn’t pull her notebook out to specify anything, but you suppose it’d be kinda difficult to write clearly while walking. So you just offer a smile, “Cool - I live next door, if you wanna hang out or something while you’re there. And uh, thanks again, for what you did at the bar”

She waves off your thanks, but gives you a lopsided smile that feels very familiar.

You’re ready to get back to your own house now, after a long weekend away. As nice as it’s been, you prefer the comfort of your own home. Besides, you need to get back to work - those drafts aren’t going to edit themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy, i hope you guys enjoyed the longest chapter yet! (almost 7k words, geez, i was on a _roll_ with this one)
> 
> and we finally, _finally_ get introduced to zia!! woo!! i’m definitely not biased!!
> 
> anyways - i really do hope you guys enjoyed <3 unfortunately, updates are gonna be slower now that college has started, but i’ll do my best to make them longer to make up for it!
> 
> any kind of feedback is appreciated - i’ll do my best to reply to comments!! <3 <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * This isn't quite how you expected this day to go.

It's nice to be back in your own bed - the visit to the city was nice, but the relaxed atmosphere of the beach and the comfort of your home is much more appealing to you. Even more so when you're free to sit in bed with a warm drink and your laptop to work on drafts in peace. You're just about finished with the most recent chapter's draft when your phone buzzes.

**vanillil:** _hey, is ur front door unlocked?_

That's... Not quite the message you were expecting to see when you pick up your phone. Vani almost never texts you, and when she does it's usually a crappy joke at 3am that you don't see until a while later. She always takes a long time to reply, too, no matter how quickly you respond - so you're not quite sure what to expect when you send back your reply of _'No, why?'_  
It takes all of three seconds for her to reply, and you're pretty sure that's a new record.

**vanillil:** _u should probs unlock it_

You're not sure whether you should be concerned or not.

Before you get chance to ask her what her advice is reffering to, your front door gets opened with such force that it bangs against the wall, startling you enough to almost drop your drink. Almost.

"Neighbor! Are you ready! For Halloween!!" Sounds from the hallway, and you put your cup and phone down before any other possible damage can be dealt. Once you've untangled yourself from the bedsheets, you run to the door and poke your head out of your bedroom, giving both Bubbles and Ri and incredulous look.

"Did you guys just _break into my house?"_

"What? No! We didn't break anything, Ri picked the lock!" Bubbles' explanation doesn't exactly help much, even as she pauses and her grin drops into a mildly annoyed look, "Did Vani not tell you that we were coming over like I asked her to?"

"She texted me a little too late, apparently"

_"Quello è probabilmente il motivo per cui la porta era chiusa a chiave"_ Ri leans over slightly to stage whisper to her sister, and whatever it is she said Bubbles seems to think it over for a few seconds before awkwardly waving her off.  
You decide that you really need to learn a couple basics in the various languages your neighbors speak.

"Anyways! _Are_ you ready for Halloween?" Bouncing back almost immediately, Bubbles holds up the box of decorations she'd been holding, filled to the brim with various halloween decorations and props. "'Cause we have some spare decorations and stuff, d'you wanna borrow any of them?"

Now, you're most _definitely_ ready for the start of spooky season. And the offer to let you use some of their (pretty cool, from what you can see) decorations is very sweet. But that doesn't mean you're any less annoyed about them barging into your house like this.

"That's really nice and all, but you can't just pick the lock on my door and come in whenever you want - at least warn me first," You step out from behind your bedroom door as you explain this, not too bothered about still being in your pijamas. In your defence, you weren't expecting company. You cut Bubbles off as she opens her mouth to say something, levelling her with a look and an unimpressed raise of an eyebrow, "Getting someone else to text me literally ten seconds before you come in doesn't count as warning me"

"We would've told you ourselves, but uh.." With a sheepish grin, Ri holds her hands up while Bubbles puts the box down to show you hers as well. They're covered in black... Paint? You're pretty sure that's paint. Bubbles has other smudges of colour on the back of one hand, though they look more deliberate. Now that they've drawn attention to it, you can see more splatters of paint up their arms, and Ri has one on her face. You stare for a moment before giving in and huffing a short laugh.

"What the hell were you two doing?"

Bubbles practically lights up, "Decorating! A couple bats needed repainting though, so we did that too. It may or may not have ended in sabotage" She says this casually, though you pick up on a slightly accusing undertone as she glances at her sister. Said sister just smiles innocently. "I was also testing different makeup for costumes! Speaking of, do you have any plans for Halloween night?"

An old friend had texted you about a party for Halloween, but... Honestly, parties have never been your thing, and you'd rather not have to drive all the way back to your hometown just for something you'd only moderately enjoy. You were just planning on staying home and marathoning horror movies instead. So you shrug, leaning against the doorframe. "Nothing set in stone, did you have any ideas?"

"Most of us are gonna be doing trick or treating, if you wanna come with us!" While Bubbles cheerfully explains to you, you watch as Ri seems to decide that standing for this long is boring, and proceeds to sit on the floor in the middle of your hallway. "Or I think Fell, Ruby, and Rus are gonna stay at home and watch a bunch of horror movies, if you'd rather do that. Trick or treating is more fun, though!"  
You think it's safe to assume which Bubbles would rather you do, but..

"I'll think about it - I don't even have a costume yet, so-"

"We could help you!!"

You probably should've expected that.

"Not to brag or anything, but m'sis is like.. Crazy good at halloween makeup, and makeup in general," Ri pipes up from the floor, "Last year she did such a convincing burn mark on my face that Angel called the ambulance"

While Ri grins in amusement at the way your eyes widen, Bubbles holds a hand to her chest (consequentially getting a smudge of paint on her shirt) and lowers her head solemnly. "My skills are both a blessing, and a curse"  
You can't help a quiet snort at that one - at least if they're joking about it that probably means nothing bad happened, right? Right. Probably.

"Well, I guess I know who to go to for help, then," You grin, but quickly speak again when you realise _exactly_ where Bubbles' train of thought just went from her expression alone, _"Nearer the time,_ though" As lovely as these two are, you don't really feel up to getting burn marks painted on your face. It must be a pain to wash off. Besides, you have almost an entire month to think about costumes.

Giving you a pout that you've come to realise is just for exaggeration purposes, Bubbles dramatically rolls her eyes with a dragged out "Fiiiiiine" before a grin sneaks its way onto her face again, and she nudges the box of decorations with her foot. "Seriously though, d'you want these? We'll need them back after, but you're free to borrow them"

"Yeah, I'll take 'em," You push yourself away from the doorframe and crouch down next to the box, briefly sifting through the various decorations. There's a lot of skeleton stuff, which is understandable; it's skeleton war season, after all. "These look pretty cool, thanks for letting me borrow them"  
Ri shuffles closer, before proceeding to shove her hand into the box and feel around for a moment before pulling something out. A pair of those stupid face glasses things - this one has a ridiculous nose and mustache and massive eyebrows attached to it. Which, of course, she puts on without a second of hesitation. "You sure you don't wanna just wear this as a costume? S'pretty _eye catching_ " Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't dare give her the satisfaction of a response. But the fact that she put on a silly, nasally fake voice despite saying everything in complete seriousness forces a laugh out of you. You're pretty sure you heard a choked laugh from Bubbles, too, before she covers it with a cough.

_"Sorella,_ I'm banning you from the Halloween props"

"Aw, c'mon," She's still doing the voice, and you can't look directly at her without laughing, "This is comedy gold. You want to ban pure comedy?"

"When you're the one doing it, yes"

"Wow, brutal"

You snort at the exchange, before reaching over to snag the glasses off Ri's face. She tries to dodge, but just ends up leaning too far back and loosing her balance when you grab hold of the glasses. She doesn't move from her new position, but she's probably fine. "I think that's enough of that," You dump them back in the box, before using it as leverage to pull yourself to your feet again.

Ri groans something incomprehensible when Bubbles taps her with her foot, and you let out a _'snrk'_ when the shorter of the two stares in mock disappointment before bending down and practically throwing her sister over one shoulder in a fireman's carry. She stands again with no problem, even when Ri briefly struggles and shouts at the sudden change. You wouldn't be surprised if this is a commond method of transportation, considering how quickly Ri accepts it and quiets down.  
"I agree completely, that is _definitely_ enough of that," Bubbles nods decisively, "We'll be taking our leave now, then - there are still plastic bats to paint and Fell has probably found another costume idea by now, so! See ya later, neighbor!"

With a grin and salute, Bubbles turns on her heel and heads for the front door. You watch them leave with a chuckle and goodbye of your own, raising your hand in return when Ri briefly waves at you, before stepping close enough to close the door behind them.  
After they're gone, you stay where you are for a few moments before letting out a quiet huff of a laugh and returning to your room. These girls are gonna be the death of you.

Since you're up now, you decide you might as well get dressed and go outside for a bit - maybe have a walk through the town, pick up some groceries. Yeah, that sounds like an okay plan - you grab some money to put in your pocket on your way out.  
Once you're outside and have locked the door, you make your way down the small stairs and pathway leading to your gate, having to put quite a bit of your weight into shoving it open. You really need to get those new hinges so Fell can fix this thing.

It's mostly sunny, but the air is crisp and clouds occasionally pass by and temporarily block out some of the light. That doesn't seem to be a deterrent for the groups of people you can see on the beach, though. Humans and monsters alike seem to be making the most of what's left of the warm weather before the usually colder days of October set in.  
Speaking of October, you can't help a small grin when you pass by your neighbors' house; Bubbles and Ri weren't joking when they said they'd been decorating. There's already little lanterns in the shape of bats hung up on their porch, accompanied by black and orange streamers and.. Are those Christmas lights? You're pretty sure those are Christmas lights. Either way, they're not turned on yet, likely because it's still light out, but you can see more lights strung up inside through the window that are twinkling away.

Honestly, you're kind of surprised that they held off decorating for this long, considering some of your neighbors' usual enthusiasm.

You continue on your way to the town, but just before the beach goes out of sight you notice two figures sat by the rock pools. The tide is out, so there's various places to sit and many small pools of water, but you're not quite sure what Ruby's doing over there. She's close enough for you to identify her, and you're fairly sure that's Siren sat next to her, but you doubt they'd hear you if you called them - unless you like.. Yelled really loud. But you don't feel like yelling, it'd probably get you a few weird looks from other beach-goers.  
They seem to just be talking while Siren moves to a different place every couple seconds to try and look at something in one of the pools - you decide to go talk to them later, if they're still around by the time you come back.

The town is quiet today. There's only a few people on the streets, but at least that means nowhere is overly crowded. You only see a few houses with decorations up already, but you suppose it is still a bit early - for most people, anyways. You get the feeling that your neighbors often decorate early for holidays.  
You pass by a bookstore, intending to continue on to the shop you usually go to for groceries, but pause when you remember something. Angel works at the crystals shop just above this bookstore, doesn't she? Maybe you could pay her a visit - you'd been meaning to check out the shop, anyways, and you have some time to kill.

The steps that lead up the side of the bookstore are wide and made of cobblestone, with sand from the beach scattered on practically every inch of their surface that has gotten stuck in cracks over time. There's only a few of them, and there's a newer-looking fossil shop opposite that blocks most of the view of the beach, but you can tell they've been around for a long time.  
The crystals shop itself is pretty small, and from the outside looks more like a cottage than a shop. You step inside, briefly glancing up as a bell chimes apon your entrance, before looking around. It's a sweet little shop - there's a small table in the middle of the room with gems carved into little figures, and glass cabinets full of bigger samples line the back wall. There's a window opposide the door you just came through, and the light that shines through it reflects against the various baskets full of crystals placed on a table underneath it.

There's only one other customer looking at the glass cabinets, and another seems to have just finished paying for something - you step aside ad they head for the door. Angel cheerfully waves goodbye to them from behind the counter, and practically lights up when she sees you. Beside the counter, sat on a stool and leaning her elbow on the countertop, Zia stops whatever she was writing to look up when Angel calls you over.  
"Neighbor! I didn't expect to see you here, how are you?"

You find yourself easily returning her friendly smile as you walk over to the counter, "I'm good, just thought I'd drop by - this looks like a nice place to work" While you speak, you give a small wave to Zia, which she's quick to return before lowering her head again to continue writing. Wait, no - now that you're closer, you notice that she's actually drawing something.

"It is! Today's been boring, though," Angel leans her hands against the counter with a small shrug, her eyes flitting about the room before returning to you. Her usual energy seems to be making her restless, judging by how she taps her fingers against the wood in a rhythm you can't keep up with - she must be bored having to stay in a near-empty shop for so long. At least Zia's here to keep her company as well, although you're not sure how long she's been there. "You can look around, if you like - we got some cheaper ones restocked yesterday"  
You don't really have any money to spare right now, but.. It couldn't hurt to take a look. So you give a smile and a nod before making your way over to the baskets by the window. Each one has a different kind of crystal in it - most of them are polished and smooth, although there are some that are uncut. There's one that catches your eye, and you briefly pick it up to look it over - laboradorite, according to the label on the basket. A lot of different colours shine on it's surface, and it looks a bit like something straight out of a fantasy novel, but you put it back despite the voice in the back of your mind telling you to blow all the money you brought with you on pretty gems. It's tempting, though.

It's not long before another basket full of crystals draws your attention, and you tentatively pick up one from the top of the pile. As you turn it over in your hand, the colouring seems to shift from blue to white as the light reflects off it. Just as you glance down to read the label, Angel speaks up from where she's still at the counter.

"Those are blue quartz; recovered from Mount Ebott after the barrier broke," She tells you, folding her arms to lean against her elbows instead, "They were considered stars in the Underground - it... Kind of sucks that humans keep going down there to take them now, though, as pretty as they are"  
Yeah, that does sound pretty sucky. You'd heard about humans going on excursions to the Underground now that it's empty, but hadn't exactly given much thought to it until now. You can't help but wonder how many 'stars' are left down there - probably not many.

... That's depressing. You decide to change the subject.

"Is it part of the job to know where these all come from, or?"

Putting a smile back on her face, Angel shakes her head, "No, I only know about those because I-" She pauses, and you're not sure why. But, then she continues as if it never happened just as Zia glances up at her. "I used to live near the mountain - it's in Marbella" Oh, maybe that's why she paused. You vaguely wonder if she's homesick.  
She says the name of where she lived with perfect punctuation, but the brief switch from her accent when speaking English to her full-on Spanish leaves you slightly surprised and also wanting to hear more. Something about hearing people speak in different languages is always so interesting, even if you can't understand what they're saying.

"That's pretty cool, but you're right, it's pretty bad how people are just taking these now - though, granted, I don't know much about it," You can't really say much else, and if you're being honest with yourself you probably don't care as much as you should, but you can understand why it's upsetting. You've heard passing stories about how monsters used to wish on crystals like the one in your hand, so they must've been important. Or was it flowers? There was something about flowers and wishes, if you remember correctly.

Zia taps twice against the countertop, and both you and Angel glance over as she finishes scribbling something on a spare piece of paper and holds it up. **'there's companies that do tours down there, too. it's a pretty big place'**  
Huh, that's kinda cool, actually. You'd be lying if you said you've never been curious about what the Underground is like.

"If they do tours, then surely there must be at least some of these left, right? Gotta keep it pretty for tourists, or the money stops coming in," You offer, holding up the blue quartz. Angel seems skeptical, but eventually relents with a nod.

"I guess so"

 

The conversation breaks off when the customer that had been looking at the glass cabinets asks Angel to get one of the necklaces out for them, so you go to put the quartz back while she's busy. Before you get chance, though, you notice something just as Angel moves out from behind the counter. Whereas her hair had previously been over her shoulder, loose instead of tied up like it usually is, when she leans down to get the keys it slips back and you catch a glimpse of the nametag on her work clothes.

Papyrus.

... Huh.

Isn't that what Bubbles had called Ri one time? You'd kind of guessed that most of the girls had introduced themselves to you with nicknames, but you decided that their reasons for doing so were none of your business. If Angel and Ri _do_ have the same real name, though (and a very.. Unusual one, at that), then you might just have to do some digging to satisfy your curiosity. For now, though, you put the crystal back in it's basket and stand out of the way next to Zia while Angel (Papyrus??) rings up the customer.  
Once they leave, the shop is left empty save for the three of you. And whoever is in the staff room playing their music loud enough to be heard through the door.

You notice that Angel pulls her hair over the nametag again once she realises that it moved.

Okay, now you're _definitely_ gonna say something. That's just a bit too suspicious.

"Hey, Angel?" She looks up from the register, her attention moving to you as quickly as she had been moving some of those coins around.

"Yes?"

"What does your nametag say?" In exactly the same moment, your friend freezes as she holds your gaze, and Zia's pencil stops mid-stroke against the paper. She's listening to the conversation, you can tell, but she doesn't look up.  
Angel says nothing, and doesn't move even when you silently prompt her for an answer with a quirk of your eyebrow. She just kind of.. Stares at you. It's pretty unnerving- Is she still breathing?

And then, all at once she comes back to life, breaking out into what you can only assume is nervous laughter. "Well, my name, obviously! That's what nametags are for, they have your name on them-" She's backing up now, and you feel kinda bad for making her panic like this, whatever her reason for panicking is. You go to say something, but she glances up at a clock on the wall by the glass cabinets before looking back to you with an uneasy smile, "Um! It's time for my break- legally required break, and! I just remembered! I uh- I have to go to the bathroom!"  
And with that, she practically sprints into the staff room, closing the door behind her with a little more force than necessary. Well, that was an abrupt exit - you didn't mean to scare her off. Can you really be blamed, though? All you did was ask about a nametag.

You glance down at Zia, who's now looking at where Angel disappeared to as well, and awkwardly clear your throat to get her attention. "Uh... D'you know anything about that?"  
She studies you for a moment, as if trying to judge whether you're worthy of an answer or not, before giving a small shrug and avoiding eyecontact as she writes a quick word on her spare sheet of paper.

**'kinda'**

How helpful.

You can tell that she knows more about it, Zia isn't exactly doing the best job of not looking awkward, but you don't press her. You barely know her, and she looks pretty uncomfortable under your stare. Maybe you should give them both space for a bit? But, Angel seemed upset about something you said.. If you leave, will she think you don't care if you upset her? Will she hate you? You don't want her to hate you, just the thought of that stirs the anxiety that's slowly bubbling in the back of your mind.  
A tug on the hem of your shirt draws you back from your thoughts and gives you chance to take a deeper breath, and you look down once again at Zia as she holds up the paper. **'i'd just drop it. it's a kinda difficult topic for her and the others'**

Difficult topic? If you'd have known that in the first place, you wouldn't have asked - now you just feel worse. Damn it, why did you have to say something?

You take another deep breath in an attempt to get your thoughts together, before giving a small nod and looking back to the staff door. You take a couple hesitant steps closer, intent on knocking and trying to convince her to come back for a moment so you can apologise, but muffled talking from the other side makes you pause.  
That's Angel's voice, and she's speaking in Spanish, so you assume she's talking to her sister - over the phone, probably. You don't understand a lot of it, but you pick out a couple things; _hermana, perdón,_ sans... Actually. isn't sans a French word?

... Or it could be another name.

You back away from the door, glancing over your shoulder at Zia. She's watching you carefully, or maybe curiously, as you return to her side. "Hey, uh.." You decide that it would probably be best to leave a message and then give them some space for now, "If- When she comes back, could you tell her I'm sorry for bringing it up? I have to go, but.. I'll text her later, or something"  
It feels awkward giving someone you barely know a message for one of your friends, but from what you've seen Zia and Angel seem quite close. You head for the door as soon as she nods in response.

This really isn't how you expected this day to go - you're starting to think you should've just stayed in bed. But still... Papyrus. You've heard that name before, you swear you have. You recognised it just a bit when Bubbles called Ri by it, but it didn't click until now. Papyrus and Sans - you've heard both those names before, but from where? They're not common names, by any means, so why is it so difficult for you to pinpoint where they're from?

A chilled breeze has picked up outside and the clouds are covering up the sun, driving mosy of the people on the beach back inland to find a bar or giftshop to pass the time instead. You're lost in thought until you almost walk face-first into a seahorse looking monster. With a quick apology, you sidestep around them, but then it clicks.

Papyrus is Monsterkind's mascot. You've seen him on TV before - _that's_ how you know that name! You saw him on TV with the Ambassador and the King not long after the barrier broke.  
The breeze blows past you again, temporarily breaking your focus as you shiver, but you remember it now; the mascot had acted cheerful and friendly, and so very much like Angel. He mentioned someone named Sans - a family member, if you remember correctly? He must be.

None of this really.. Makes sense, though. You remember where you heard those two names from, but why would Ri and Angel have the same name as Monsterkind's mascot? And who is the 'Sans' you heard Angel refer to?  
Despite your mind swirling with questions, you look up long enough to realise you've been walking in the wrong direction; the store is the other way. You're back at the edge of the beach, now, which has been almost deserted now that the sun has gone. You can still see Ruby and Siren a little further away, though. Would they get upset too if you asked them about the whole name thing?

... Well, Ruby doesn't like you anyways, so you don't have too much to loose. And you'd like to think that Siren would at least tell you _something_ \- you want answers, groceries can wait.

As you pick your way across the rocks to where they're sat, you do your best to avoid any of the rock pools that have formed. At least the tide is still out.  
Ruby spots you first, but says nothing as you approach. She looked bored a few moments ago, but now that you're here she's much more alert. You pay her no mind, instead making your presence known to both of them with a "Hey, guys"

You didn't think your appearance was that sudden, but Siren almost slips into the water when you speak up.

"Shit- Sorry," You go to bend down to help her, but she's quick to get her balance back and find a seat further away from the shallow pool. The sleeve of her cardigan got a bit wet, but at least she didn't fall in completely - she looks pretty happy to see you, too. Ruby, on the other hand, does not.

"It's fine," Siren is quick to clamber back down to the water as you kneel on one of the drier-looking rocks opposite them both, and points to a rock near the edge of the pool. "There's a crab under there, don't let it see your shadow"

"She's been tryin'a get it to come out for the past ten minutes," Ruby adds with a yawn, apparently deciding that you're not here to wreak havoc and returning to her bored state from before you got here. You can't help a small huff of a laugh, though - you really didn't expect anything less from Siren.

"If you're bored, why are you staying?" You meant that as an honest question, and thought the amused smile on your face further confirmed that, but apparently Ruby took it a different way. Her visible eye snaps up to yours, and your smile slowly fades under her stare. It's an analytical and calculating look, one that unnerves you in a way that you can't quite describe. It's scary whenever she looks at you like this - you find yourself inching back a bit. Eventually, though... That look softens, and she sighs.

"Promised I'd stay," Ruby looks away from you then, back to the rock pool that Siren is now dropping pebbles into in an attempt to encourage the crab out. It's not working.  
The sudden change in attitude catches you off guard, though, and you only give a brief, cursory glance to Siren before your eyes are trained on Ruby again. She's.. Really not making it easy for you to figure out how she feels about you. Does she still hate you? Is she just indifferent to it now? You can't tell, and you're kind of sick of the questions that keep piling up today surrounding your neighbors.

Speaking of questions to do with your neighbors... Could Angel have been reffering to Vani as 'Sans' earlier? And, if she was.. If she and Ri have the same name, would it be too much of a stretch to think that Vani has the same name as one or more of the others? It'd make you look kinda stupid if you just blurted it out only to find that you're completely wrong, but...

"Sans?" You decide to chance it.

Both Siren and Ruby looking up in response to that name is all the answer you need, though. It can't be just 'that name' - it's _their_ name. The two of them look to eachother for a brief moment before their gazes - that you now see are _exactly_ the same colour - return to you.  
Ruby looks nervous, and Siren's expression is unreadable. Her voice is level when she speaks, but her question only confuses you more.

"Who told you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my apologies if this chapter is kinda,,, 'eh', i am currently very sick ="D
> 
> but! some shit went down in this one. just in time for spooky season, woo!
> 
>  
> 
> and hey, while you're here, check out this awesome art!!  
> [me-and-my-gaster](https://me-and-my-gaster.tumblr.com/) drew an absolutely _amazing_ [siren!](https://me-and-my-gaster.tumblr.com/post/178427411280/jellyfish-hear-hear-this-is-still-in-the-fandom) lookit all those sea creature charms!  
>  and this one isn't fanart, but i commissioned the ever-wonderful [nighttimepixels](https://nighttimepixels.tumblr.com/) and y'all. _y'all. her art is absolutely fantastic._ she did an amazing commission of [all the girls](https://nighttimepixels.tumblr.com/post/178441786253/finished-this-bigger-commission-for-the) for me, go give her some love!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Well, at least there's some progress

"Told me? Was someone _supposed_ to tell me that my neighbors all have the same name?"

You don't get an answer as Siren pulls you across the rocks by your hand. She steps over and around them so easily, you have a bit of trouble keeping up with her - though you notice that her grip tightens whenever she feels you start to lose your balance. Ruby is following behind you, but she doesn't answer you either.  
The fact that neither of them are speaking, and are currently dragging you back to (you assume) their house with no explanation, kickstarts the anxiety that's been steadily increasing since you said their name. _Goddamn it, why did you have to ask._

"Guy-uh, guys, hey--" You almost slip on the last rock before the pavement, but a hand catches your elbow to steady you. If memory serves, that's the first time Ruby's done something somewhat nice for you. Too bad that you're also anxious to the point of not being able to breathe right, though, and the action doesn't really register.  
As soon as you're back on the pavement, you dig your heels in and manage to dislodge your hand from Siren's. You don't run, but it's very tempting to book it back to your house and just forget any of this ever happened.

Apparently, Siren picks up on your growing fear; her previously steeled and neutral expression drops just a fragment, into a much softer one. Sympathetic, almost. Ruby steps up beside you, and it feels almost like she's blocking you from leaving, intentionally or not. You decide not to dwell on that, instead doing your best to calm yourself enough to form a coherent sentence.  
"Wh-... Why is it such a big deal that you both have the same name? It's not, like- It's not a common name, sure, but I.. Don't understand why you're both so alarmed about me knowing?" You give yourself a mental pat on the back for not tripping over your words too much, but the grimace tugging at your mouth stays in place. It really shouldn't be that bad that you know their names, right? It's just.. A coincidence that they have the same name, that happens to everyone - you've met people that have the same name as you before.

You watch as the two girls exchange a glance, what looks like a two second silent conversation as Siren raises an eyebrow and Ruby gives a subtle half-shrug. Ruby turns back to you first, looking as if she's about to say something before Siren smacks her arm with one hand and takes your hand in the other. "We can tell you when we get back, it's.. Nothing bad"

Well... You _did_ want to find out what was up with them, apparently this is your chance. You weren't expecting them to be so serious about it, though.

Ri is sat on the front porch when you arrive at your neighbors' house, and looks up when she hears the gate swing open. There's even more paint on her face and hands, but the decorations look good as new, even as Nymph bats at a few of them with her paws. Seeing her puts you at ease a little bit - at least she's less likely to make a big deal out of whatever's going on, if your judgement of her is correct. Siren pulls you straight past her and through the open door, and while Ruby stays back to say something you don't quite catch, Nymph perks up and follows after you.  
Vani is in the living room with Angel (when did she get back? You never saw her walk past while you were with Ruby and Siren), and the latter looks to be on the verge of tears even as Vani speaks calmly with placating gestures. They both abruptly stop when you enter - Vani puts on a grin and gives you a small wave, while Angel opts to shout something unintelligible and runs towards you. Siren sidesteps out of the way, but you get scooped up into something that's not quite a hug, but it's getting there. You instinctively wriggle a bit in alarm at first, but otherwise choose to just let it happen - at least you're not getting crushed or spun around.

"Neighbor! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry, that was _completely_ un-friend-like of me!" You're more concerned with how effortlessly Angel is carrying you, honestly - she doesn't _look_ that strong, but she seems to be having no trouble holding you a few feet off the ground.  
You manage a somewhat awkward grin, patting her arms to try and signal for her to put you down (while you try desperately not to look impressed and/or flushed about the muscles on her arms. nope, nothing to see there). She gets the message after a moment, and carefully sets you back down.

"Hey, don't worry, you have nothing to apologise for - I shouldn't have asked, it was none of my business," You shrug, and Angel tilts her head to the side with a slight squint of her eyes and a small shrug, giving you an overall 'yeah, kind of' look.

"Someone was bound to ask eventually," Vani speaks up, now with Siren next to her instead - she has Nymph in her arms again. "Didn't think it'd happen so soon, but, _someone_ was bound to find out"

"Find out?" You pick out, as Ri and Ruby come in from outside. "You mean, find out that at least half of my neighbors have the same names?"

Vani just shrugs. "Kinda" She says. Helpful.

"Same- uhh, same names..?" You glance at Ri as she perches on the armrest of the couch, her eyes flitting between you and Vani. She seems nervous, even as she tries to play it off by leaning back as casually as she can. You speak up again before any of the others can.

"Yeah, like how your name's actually Papyrus," You then nod to Angel, "And so's yours"

Angel fidgets under your gaze, and after a few moments can't maintain the eyecontact - she drops her gaze to the floor instead. "I.. Didn't realise you knew that, too-"

"That... _Might_ be my fault," You turn at the new voice, only to see Bubbles stood in the doorway with a sheepish grin on her face. Fell arrives behind her, though pushes past to instead stand by her sister.   
She's right, though - you likely wouldn't have come to the conclusion you did if it hadn't been for Bubbles.

"I'm not surprised, you're the worst at keeping secrets," Fell chimes in, and Bubbles looks as though she's about to strongly disagree, but after being levelled a look from both Ri and Fell, she crosses her arms and grumbles something under her breath instead.   
You find yourself smiling just slightly at her childish reaction, before you realise something else. You look from her, to Siren, to Vani, and to Ruby, before finally settling on Bubbles again.

"Wait, so, if you're both called Sans," You gesture to Ruby and Siren, "Is it too far-fetched to assume that you two're called Sans as well?"   
Vani raises her eyebrows as if she's mildly impressed, and Bubbles sputters while she tries to answer too quickly, but before either of them can confirm or deny it you turn to look at Fell. "And you and Rus are called Papyrus too, aren't you? I- wait, yeah, _of course_ you are - Rus, Papy _rus_ , I can't believe it took me so long to notice that"

"Wha's goin' on?" As if coming to that conclusion summoned her, Rus enters the living room, looking as if she's just gotten out of bed and isn't fully awake yet. Her shirt almost slips over her shoulder when she lifts a hand up to rub her eye, and for once her hair isn't pulled into a loose tie - it's also not straight like you've been used to seeing, instead looking like a mess of curls. Maybe she really _has_ just woken up.

"Oh, y'know, nothing important - not like the one thing we were told not to let happen happened or anything" You can practically _feel_ the sarcasm in Siren's voice, but apparently it goes completely over her sister's head, as she responds with a simple "Ok, cool" before faceplanting into the couch. Ruby snorts at the exchange, while Ri shoves Rus' legs off of her before slipping off the armrest and onto her friend's back. Apart from a muffled grunt, Rus doesn't complain.  
While you do find the small scene amusing, you choose to instead respond to something you picked up on from Siren.

"Someone told you not to let anyone know you guys have the same names?" At that, the majority of the girls seem to momentarily freeze before they look to Siren.

"Wow, _nice one"_

"Hey, _you're_ the one who used the real names first-"

"Yeah, but now we gotta explain all _that_ too"

" _Casse-toi,_ Ruby"

"Guys, guys, seriously - what is going on?" That anxiety you held over the situation before has changed to frustration at their constant back-and-forth - no one is giving you a clear answer, and it's getting ridiculous. Still, you take a breath once you have their attention, glancing at each of them as you speak. "Look, whatever's going on with you guys and this weird naming coincidence deal, I'm not gonna force any of you to tell me the details - it's not my place to do that, I know. But why are you all so... _Defensive_ about it? Why is it such a big deal, and who told you not to tell anyone about it?"

The room is silent for a while, and you find yourself regretting speaking up. You look to each of the girls for any kind of answer, though none of them seem willing. Angel and Ri both shy away from your gaze, Fell has her arms crossed and is avoiding looking at you completely, and Rus has lifted her head up to look between you and Vani, eyebrows furrowed as she tries to piece together what she missed in the earlier part of the conversation.  
Bubbles has stepped closer to Siren, both looking at you with a mixed expression of curiosity and nervousness. Ruby is staring directly at Vani, waiting for an answer just like you, and you follow her gaze to meet Vani's eyes. No one offers an explanation, and the silence puts you on edge until a sigh breaks it. As she shoves her hands into her pockets, Vani gives a half-shrug.

"So.. Y'know Monsterkind's mascot, right?"

"Yeah, Papyrus. And a relative of his, Sans"

"Brother, and y'know monsters have magic?" You nod, even if the question has a very obvious answer. Vani continues, "And, that magic surpasses a lot of scientific rules humans have. So, when you mix magic and science.. Some interesting things can happen"

"I don't see how this relates to the situation"

"I'm gettin' there," She holds her hands up, while some of the other girls either sit down or move to better see your reaction to whatever Vani is about to tell you. "So, magic and science, probably not the safest combination ever, yeah? If something goes wrong, chances are it'll go _really_ wrong. As in, like... Drag-alternate-versions-of-yourself-to-a-different-dimension kind of wrong"

Vani pauses, keeping her eyes trained on you as if gauging your reaction, and you stare at her almost blankly for a moment, processing her words, before huffing a disbelieving laugh. This, apparently, wasn't the reaction she was expecting, but you pay her confusion no mind and instead let yourself grin as you once again look at the rest of your group of neighbors.

"Okay, okay I get it - this is a prank, isn't it? You guys set this up" They really got you for a second - but, really, it's not unlike them at all to pull this kind of joke on someone. It was probably Bubbles' idea, you have no doubts that she'd be able to get the entire household in on it.  
No one else seems to find your realisation funny, though. They all look either confused or.. Conflicted? You're not sure. Why would they be conflicted? Is there more to the prank and you figured it out too early?

"Nope," Vani shrugs eventually, drawing your attention back to her. You notice that Ruby is now glaring daggers at her, but before you can question it Vani continues, "Not a prank, literally every person in this room, 'part from yourself, is from a different reality. So's Zia"

You'd almost forgotten about Zia - she doesn't seem to be anywhere in the house, or at the least isn't in the living room with everyone else. Still, you grin, not believing your neighbor. "What, like, the Matrix? Is that where you guys got this idea from?"

"N- (Y/N), have you ever noticed things about us that are... _Too_ similar?" Angel cuts in, using your actual name for once. You consider her question for a moment, before raising an eyebrow.

"I mean.. Some of you have similar eyes, I guess"

"No- well, yes, we do, but I meant how we act. Have you ever noticed anything about that?"

You try to think back to previous interactions with your neighbors. The first thing that comes to mind is the game of laser tag in the city, but nothing about that struck you as particularly.. Odd. Same with the aquarium, though Bubbles and Siren were both equally excited to go. Is that what Angel means?  
Furrowing your eyebrows, you think harder - but damn, it's hard when you're put on the spot like this. Angel, Fell, Ri and Rus all look kind of similar, Bubbles and Angel act _kind of_ similarly... So do their sisters, from what you've seen. Ri and Vani are more laidback, while Angel and Bubbles are much more energetic. The only obvious difference, you suppose, are their ages and heights.

It's almost like... They've been swapped.

Once you realise this, more things start to click into place. Rus and Ruby didn't trust you when you first met them, Fell and Siren are the quietest of your neighbors. It's like _they've_ been swapped, too.

The realisation that none of this was a prank, and that you're stood in a room full of copies from different universes, seems to show on your face - the way your eyes widen as you rapidly look from one girl to the next and back again might've been a bit of a clue. But the more you think about them being alternate versions of eachother, the more it makes sense.   
While you're still piecing everything together as much as you can, you get snapped out of your thoughts by Ruby turning on her heel and leaving the room. You hear footsteps go up the stairs, and although Fell looks like she wants to go after her, no one else leaves the room.

"So... On a scale of one to ten, how weirded out are you?" While Bubbles' attempt at lightening the heavy atmosphere is appreciated, you can't quite form a response other than:

"What the _fuck"_

\--

It would've been so easy to have gone with the excuse of it being a prank. Too easy, in fact, but it was something you were willing to believe and would've likely saved a lot of trouble in the long-run. So why didn't Vani just go with it? Ruby couldn't understand.

And she still can't, about half an hour after she left the room to hide out on the roof. At least up here she doesn't have to deal with whatever's happening downstairs. She never wanted to be a part of it, especially when the others are being so _stupid_. Why tell you everything? Why tell you the _one thing_ that no one was supposed to find out about?  
You even gave them an easy out, but Vani still told you. Why couldn't she have just taken Ruby's advice and kept them out of it all? She _told_ them it was a bad idea to get involved with you, and now look what's happened.

"Tch, 'someone's gonna find out eventually' my _ass,"_ She grumbles, setting down a small pot of thyme a little harsher than necessary. This entire situation could've been avoided if Vani had just listened to her for once, and she _knows it._ With a huff, Ruby tugs her jacket closer, sitting herself down on the edge of the roof. The situation and it's consequences are shitty, but at least there's a nice view from up here.  
She leans forwards, bringing her knee up and propping her chin on the palm of her hand. Idly, her fingertips brush over the side of her face that's always hidden behind her hair. The scarred skin is rough, but there's no longer any pain. Just numbness. It's somewhat calming, at least, to run her fingers over it - the texture is odd, but it's a mindless motion that helps her to focus on not focusing.

 

".. What'cha doing _skullking_ up here by yourself?" Oh, _great._

Glaring, Ruby looks over her shoulder only to be slightly taken aback to see you stood a few feet away from her. She was expecting Vani, or maybe Ri, but not you.  
She says nothing, only watching as you walk over to sit next to her, careful not to knock over any of the various pots. She then refuses to look at you. It's quiet for a while, save for the waves below washing over the sand and rocks - it sounds so distant, somehow.

"So they told you about those guys too, huh?" Out of the corner of her eye, she can see you turn briefly to look at her, before making a motion that she's pretty sure is a shrug.

"That you're all basically different versions of skeleton monsters, and that those skeleton monsters are _also_ different versions of skeleton monsters? Yeah"

Nothing about what got them all here in the first place, then. At least the others can keep their mouths shut about _something._

Still, though... As much as annoying as it is, there's nothing any of them can do about you knowing. It's kind of impressive that you put everything together enough to figure part of it out, too. And, now that you know, there's no real reason for Ruby to keep you at arm's length. It _has_ been kinda refreshing to have someone around who isn't technically her or Papyrus.  
... That probably means she has to apologise for being an ass to you. Ugh.

She gives herself a moment, then sighs and turns to you the same time that you turn to her.

"Look, I-"

"We didn't-"

You stop yourself with a small laugh, and Ruby shifts in her seat, almost tempted to just not apologise. But she tries again, albeit not meeting your eyes.  
"Look, uh.. Y'get why I didn't want anything to do with you at first, right? I didn't want all _this_ to happen," She spares you a glance long enough to see you nod in understanding, "But that ain't really.. Necessary anymore, so, I guess... Sorry"

When you don't reply for a few seconds, she looks back at you. It looks like you're studying her, and she tries not to shrink under the scrutiny until eventually, your lips quirk up in a small grin.  
"We didn't really get off on the right foot, did we?" Not quite the response she was expecting, but you're not wrong. "So, how 'bout we start over?"

"What?"

You offer her your hand, presumably to shake, and your grin widens just a fraction. "Hi, name's (Y/N), I'm your neighbor"  
For a moment, Ruby just stares at you as if you're stupid, until eventually she gives in and lets out a quiet _'snrk'_ of a laugh. This is how it's gonna be, then. She takes your hand (Too bad she left the buzzer in her room. Maybe next time), and shakes it once while returning your grin with a lopsided one of her own.

"Sans, call me Ruby"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> progress!! there's heckin' progress!! finally!!!
> 
> this turned out a lil' shorter than the last few chapters, but _goddamn it_ i was determined to finish this one today to give myself time to write the halloween chapter. which, hopefully, should be longer!  
>  either way, i hope you guys liked it! as always, any kind of comment/feedback is immensely appreciated <3 <3
> 
>  
> 
> and hey!! check out this awesome fanart of that scene with [ruby and siren from the last chapter](https://starchild2807.tumblr.com/post/178722223856/i-think-this-turned-out-okay-considering-its-my) that [starchild2807](https://starchild2807.tumblr.com) drew! i'm still in love with that background and how they drew ruby's hair <3


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Halloween!!

A few weeks have passed, and you still find yourself trying to wrap your head around the situation with your neighbors. It makes sense, in a way, but... It feels like there should be something else, something more. Save for Angel and Ruby, none of the girls seemed that worried about getting found out, and you can't figure out exactly why. It's a pretty big deal, in your opinion, surely they should be more worried? Or, maybe you've just been reading too many fantasy novels.  
Then again, your _life_ is currently a fantasy novel. Kinda.

Your phone buzzing rapidly with multiple notifications draws your attention away from your thoughts, if only for a moment, and you spare it a glance long enough to skim the first few words. You then do a double-take and read the rest of the messages properly, a sense of mild dread settling over you about what's to come.

**Powerpuff Girl:** _hey so remember you said to warn you first before coming into your house_  
 **Powerpuff Girl:** _well! this! is! a warning!!_  
 **Powerpuff Girl:** _i have something to show you and its veryveryvery important!! im outside right now please open the door!!_  
 **Powerpuff Girl:** _NEVERMIND THE DOORS ALREADY UNLOCKED IM COMIN IN_

Oh no.

You only have enough time to get up and to the kitchen doorway before Bubbles comes barrelling into the hall. She's grinning and seems unable to stand still, immediately trapping you in a hug as soon as she spots you. "Happy Halloween!!" You have no choice but to go along with it, getting swept quite literally off your feet as she picks you up and twirls you around on the spot. She _does_ seem to be learning, though - her hold on you isn't as bonecrushing as previous times and she sets you back on the ground fairly gently after a spin or two.  
Bubbles' excitement is as contagious as always - you smile back at her without a second thought.

"Happy Halloween to you too - issat gonna be your costume?" You gesture vaguely to her outfit, a different one to what you're used to seeing her wearing. Her hair is loose for once, although most of it has been covered by her hood. It's white, and has what look like bunny ears on it - the rest of the hoodie is blue, though, and the sleeves are rolled up to her elbows. Your first thought was of Finn, the Adventure Time character, but you realise now that she went for Fionna instead - the skirt and knee-high socks suit her, actually.

Taking note of your interest, Bubbles' grin widens into something a little more mischievous and she pushes the piece of paper she'd been holding into your hands before taking a step back. "Yep!" She spreads her arms out and spins on the spot with a flourish, before her hands settle on her hips instead, "I _was_ gonna go with something a lil' cooler, but I've had this hoodie for ages and never really worn it, and we're gonna be doing a bit of walking so I don't wanna wear anything too heavy, ya'know?"  
Yeah, you can understand that - you're also not surprised that she plans on trick-or-treating. You suspect that some of your other neighbors will be joining in, too.

"Well, it looks good on you - oh, hey, is this for that haunted house everyone's been talking about?" You finally look down and skim read the flyer that had been forced into your hands, taking note of the typically 'Halloween-y' decorations on it. The haunted house itself looks alright, though. You've heard quite a few people mention it while you were out and about, apparently it's supposed to be really good.

"Yeah!! That's what I wanted to show you - we're all going, did you wanna come with us? We can trick-or-treat on the way there! It's by the- uh, " That sounds a lot more entertaining than what you had planned, at least. You don't fail to notice Bubbles falter slightly, and look up at her with a raised eyebrow as a silent question. Her grin is a bit more awkward now. "Y'remember the field I took you to? For the hangout? It's near there, jus' not as far out"

You're not sure why she's being awkward about mentioning the hangout - you thought it had gone pretty well after the whole 'it's not a date' conversation - but you give a nod in reply. "That's cool - I was just gonna stay home and binge watch horror movies all night, but a haunted house sounds like more fun," And you might get some candy on the way too, score, "I think I still have my costume from last year somewhere, I can just wear that again"  
Bubbles follows you to your room, but at least she has the decency to wait by the door until you give the okay for her to come in. Seems her disregard for privacy only extends to breaking in through front doors, then. Good to know.

Leaving the flyer on your desk, you set about trying to find what you'd worn last year. It _should_ still fit you. Should.   
While you're busy rummaging about your things in search of the costume, you notice Bubbles peering curiously over your shoulder - you can just about see her through the mirror pinned up on the wall. She keeps having to tug strands of hair behind her ear, not used to having it loose, but they just keep bouncing back and she crosses her eyes to look at the offender with an expression over-exaggerated enough to make you laugh. She does it again just to make you laugh more.

"What's your costume gonna be?" She asks eventually, seating herself on the edge of your desk and idly swinging her legs back and forth. You spare her a quick glance, but are quick to return to searching. It's not in any of your drawers, so you go to the closet next.

"It's just one from a fancy dress type shop back where I used to live," Now that you think about it, you're pretty sure you have a foam axe your friend bought you as a gag-gift that would go well with the costume, "A dwarf, like a Lord of The Ring kinda deal"  
The next time you look over to your neighbor, she's practically vibrating on the spot with a grin so wide you're almost concerned she's going to hurt herself.

" _Really?_ You- Oh my God, okay-- Okay you have to find it, can I do your makeup?"

"Do fantasy dwarves even wear makeup?" You raise an amused eyebrow, stifling a snort when Bubbles accidentally slips off the desk and flails for a second before managing to lean back on her elbows as if to say that yes, she definitely meant to do that thing that she just did, why do you ask?

Once she finds her balance and makes sure you're not laughing (you're trying your best not to, you really are), her grin comes back full force and she gives a half-shrug. "If they want to, why not?"

 

Apparently, 'doing your makeup' involves about twenty minutes of Bubbles not letting you see what she's doing, and then nearly falling over with the force at which you recoiled back from how realistic that gash on your face looks. You thought Ri was over-exaggerating when she said Bubbles was good with this type of thing, but this is just downright _witchcraft._

She's done... _something_ that make your eyes stand out a lot more - you think it might be the dark eyeshadow-y stuff. Second to the pseudo-injury, that's the first thing you notice when she finally shows you. You mentally thank past-you for getting changed before letting her start, you would've felt so bad if you'd accidentally smudged her work trying to get a foux-fur cape over your head.

"So, what'cha think? Cool, right?" Bubbles prompts you for a more verbal answer, your borderline heart attack at seeing your own reflection apparently not being enough. The grin on her face just turned shit-eating, you can sense it even as you don't take your eyes off your reflection.

"I think this is the coolest I've ever looked, honestly"

"Oh, I did a good job, then! I gotta say, it was pretty hard to one-up how cool you usually look" You're fairly sure that she's teasing you, but the compliment makes you grin either way.

"Wow, I'm flattered," Your tone is borderline sarcastic, but she doesn't seem to pick up on it, "Also, not to be _that_ person, but why's there a gash on my face, exactly?"

"It's Halloween! Blood and guts and stuff's usually the norm - besides, I wanted to try out a different technique I saw someone do in a video," Bubbles shrugs, though her grin stays in place. She sets about putting her stuff away (she'd ran back to her house to get what she needed while you were changing) and while you'd love to help, you have no idea where anything's supposed to go. Then again, she seems to just be throwing everything into the bag, there's no apparent order. "By the way, some of the others went out earlier and are already at the haunted house place, I think it's just Fell, Angel, and Ruby who're walking with us"

"Cool - when're we leaving?" You still need to find that toy axe. And get a bag or something for candy - although, you're not sure how many people are going to be in, considering how popular the haunted house seems to be.

Bubbles stands as she finishes putting the makeup supplies away, and swings the bag over her shoulder before offering you a hand. You take it, and she pulls you up with very little effort.  
"As soon as you're ready! The others should be done by now, I just gotta put this back and get my bag!"

\--

You head over to your neighbor's house as soon as you find what you were looking for - the axe had been left in one of the boxes you'd shoved into a corner, and you resorted to just grabbing a plastic bag from the kitchen. The decorations seem to have doubled since the last time you saw their house, which really doesn't surprise you.  
The gate is covered in (what you hope are) fake cobwebs and little plastic spiders, and lanterns have been placed along the path that leads up to the front door. A couple jack-o-lanterns are on the porch, too, and the candles inside them are already lit - one of them, you notice, seems to be carved in the vague shape of a skeleton. Another has been painted to look like the night sky, with holes poked in so that some of the stars shine brighter than the rest.

You take a moment to guess who might've made them, before knocking on the door. Bubbles had gone back earlier to do what she needed to, so you're not surprised when you hear her shout _"Just a minute!"_ from inside.

It does not, however, take 'just a minute' for the door to be practically kicked down and for you to be almost bowled over by a very excited Angel. You're pretty sure it only takes a matter of seconds.  
"Neighbor! 'Appy Halloween!" She traps you in a hug and spins you around in a way that's very similar to how Bubbles hugged you earlier - you're once again reminded of the fact that _oh yeah, your neighbors are all counterparts of eachother,_ even from such a simple action. You decide not to dwell on that particular piece of information, just for tonight - you'd much rather enjoy Halloween with them than get potentially weirded out and/or have an existential crisis. Besides, something about Angel's accent is different.

"Hey, Angie!" You respond eventually, holding onto her for a moment even after she puts you down to get your balance back. Once you do, you look up at her only to step back in order to get a better view of her costume. "Holy shit, you look so cool! Pirate, right?"  
She holds her head up proudly, grinning as she plants one hand on her hip and brings the other up to tilt her hat down at you. She has a white shirt in the style that you've come to associate with pirates, cinched at the waist by various belts and a few strips of fabric - one of the belts acts as a makeshift scabbard for the cutlass hanging at her hips. There's a few skirts layered over the pants she's wearing, though none of them reach the floor and those boots have given her another two inches on you.

"Aye!" Ah, that's what it is - she's putting on a more 'pirate-y' accent. Nevertheless, she seems thrilled that you like her costume. The hand that was on her hip flicks away the red cape that's hung over her shoulder with a dramatic flair, and she holds her other hand out for you to take. As soon as you do, she pulls you closer before guiding you down the stairs. "An' word 'round the house is you're comin' with us, yeah?"

You grin, adjusting your grip on the fake axe so that you can hold up the bag you brought, "Aye aye, captain"

"Angel, you forgot your bag"

You both turn back to the front door, and you feel your jaw slacken just a fraction. There's no one else it can be but Fell, what with the distinctive scar on her face, but _damn,_ you almost didn't recognise her. Instead of the usual braid, her hair is loose and straight and has been dyed black, and you're not sure if she did her makeup herself but from where you're stood it looks absolutely flawless.  
At first, you thought maybe her costume is a vampire or something, but as she walks down the steps of the porch and hands Angel her bag, you realise where her dress is from with a small ghasp.

"Morticia!" Maybe saying it out loud like that was a little impulsive, but it's too late now - Fell regards you with a raised eyebrow and a twitch of her lips that you think might've been the beginning of a smile. She promptly ignores Angel's giggling at you sudden outburst in favor of reaching out a hand to put a finger under your chin, closing your mouth for you. Oh yeah, you might've still been staring at her open-mouthed. That was.. Embarassing.

"You have good taste in movies" Fell remarks as she lets her hand fall from your face, and you hope that the makeup Bubbles put on you covers your flushing.

"So do you - nice hair, by the way"

"Ruby! C'mooon, we're leaving!" Bubbles is next to join the fray, bounding outside with a green backpack and fake sword in hand. She skips the stairs completely, opting to just leap over them instead, the absolute madwoman. You notice Vani stood in the doorway behind her, and give a small wave. You recieve a lopsided grin in reply. She doesn't seem to be wearing a costume, which you suppose you should've expected, but you still can't deny you're a little disappointed.

"I'm comin', _mija,_ chill" Ruby appears a few seconds later, tugging the hem of her skirt down as she joins your small group. Siren is behind her, but stays with Vani at the door instead. Her costume has a level of detail that rivals Angel's, from what you can see - the navy jacket has white stitching and you're pretty sure those buttons are silver. There are white ruffles of fabric on the ends of her sleeves and, now that you look closer, what you first thought was a skirt is actually an extension of the jacket, with various layers of navy, black, and white ruffles and lace. She looks very elegant, and the outfit gives you a very Victorian vibe - you swear you've seen it somewhere before, but you can't remember from where. The only thing that offsets the aesthetic she's got going is the black eyepatch tied over her left eye.  
Ruby, on the other hand, has a much simpler costume when compared to Siren's; a white blouse, red skirt, and a black corset. She has a red cape similar to Angel's, but it covers both her shoulders and has a hood that's currently pulled up. When she glances over at you, you notice a few scars that weren't on her face before - curtesy of Bubbles, you expect. It makes for a pretty cool contrast to the simpler outfit, though.

"Are you two not coming?" You ask, turning your attention back to the two at the door. Siren simply shakes her head, while Vani shrugs.

"Someone's gotta stay an' sort out the horror movie lineup for later, and give out the candy" She explains as she leans against the doorframe, and after a beat of silence Siren speaks up.

"Speaking of that," The shortest of your neighbors pivots on her heel and marches back indoors. You watch her go, glancing briefly to Vani for any kind of answer (she just shrugs again) before Siren returns, now with a bowl of what looks like candy in her hands. Oh _hell_ yeah. "You're technically allowed to take some"  
You jump at the chance, wriggling your hand out of Angel's grip to take a handful from the bowl. Admittedly, you didn't grab as much as you could have, but you didn't want to be too greedy. Maybe you can get any that's leftover when you get back later. Still, some is better than nothing, and you grin as you shove the handful of treats into your bag.

"Thanks!"

"Okay, can we go yet? The twins and Zia are already there, and I heard there's game stalls and stuff! And we're supposed! To be! Trick-or-treating!!" Bubbles calls your attention back to her, slinging her backpack over her shoulder to then use her free hand to grab yours again. She tugs on it once, but after you level her a look she resorts to bouncing restlessly on her heels instead. You huff a quiet laugh, and allow yourself to grin slightly at her mannerisms.

"Yeah, we should probably get there as soon as we can, so we get chance to walk back before it gets dark," As much as you can deal with horror movies and the like, you'd rather _not_ walk through town in the dark on Halloween night, thank you very much. There's a few murmurs of agreement from the others in your group, so you take it they had similar ideas.  
With a small wave to Siren and Vani, you let Bubbles guide you down the path towards the gate, only glancing over your shoulder to call a quick "See you guys later!" in chorus with the other various goodbye's.

Angel jogs a few steps to walk on your free side, although instead of linking arms she puts an arm around your shoulders and slows down a bit to walk at the same pace as you. At least that means you have one hand relatively free to carry your bag. Fell ends up leading your small group, while Ruby strays behind a little bit and occasionally comments on the different decorations at each house.  
You grin, listening as the girls talk to, over, and about eachother while you walk, sometimes adding in comments of your own. It's time for some trick-or-treating, at last.

\--

It isn't nearly as fun as you remember it being when you were younger. Not many people are home to answer the door, you suspect the majority of the town's residents are at the haunted house or working, and those who _are_ home never really seem all that into it, or are bordering on rude. One man even visibly sneered when he saw your friends, and you had to stop yourself from calling him out on it. He gave you all shitty candy, too.

With a sigh, you adjust your grip on the bag and try to keep in step behind Bubbles, but nearly crash into her when she suddenly stops with a scandalised ghasp. "Ruby! It says take one! _One!"_  
You follow her gaze until you catch sight of Ruby, crouched next to a bowl of candy by someone's gate. It has a sign next to it that does, indeed, say 'Please take one'. She has an entire handfull, though, and simply shrugs with a shit-eating grin when Bubbles calls her out.

"Y'can't blame me, I don't gotta follow the rules if I can't read 'em" She stands and walks back over to the group, taking her place next to her sister, who seems to be keeping tabs on the conversation out of the corner of her eye.

_"That's not an excuse, I just told you what it says!"_

"Oops, too late" Ruby 'accidentally' drops the handfull of candy into Fell's bag, prompting another offended ghasp from Bubbles and drawing a laugh out of you. Fell simply glances down before turning her head in the other direction.

"I didn't see anything" She states, and continues walking along the pavement with Ruby snickering behind her. Eventually, Bubbles sighs and jogs after them, leaving you to catch up by yourself after grabbing some candy from the bowl. Even if the trick-or-treating itself wasn't that great, at least you have your friends' antics for entertainment.

"You two're as bad as eachother sometimes, ya'know that?"

"Hurry up, slackers! We're almost there!" Angel comes back into view from where she'd ran up ahead, pointing towards the signpost that has various flyers and leaflets pinned to it. One of the bigger flyers displays the haunted house with an arrow underneath it, pointing out (hah) where to go.  
You quicken your pace in order to catch up to her, and it's not long before your group comes across the field that the majority of the town's residents are currently occupying. 

The advertised haunted house stands near the edge of the field, and multiple rows of food and game stalls fill up the other side. There's children and adults alike wearing costumes and wandering around, and you're pretty sure those screams that sound out above all the chattering are coming from the house.  
Overall, it looks like a lot more fun than the walk here.

"I'm gonna go find some games to play, one of you call me when you go to the house!" Bubbles announces, and is just about to run off towards the stalls before Angel lunges forwards and grabs her arm.

"I'll come too!"

Before anyone else can interject, they're both running towards the nearest game stall.

You glance briefly to the remaining sisters, before shrugging and starting to walk further into the field. "I'm gonna see if I can find Ri, or Rus," You look back over your shoulder long enough to recieve a nod of acknowledgement from each of them, then continue on your way.  
It doesn't take long for you to find Rus - she's sat at a facepainting booth near the entrance of the field, and seems to have just finished painting a kid's face for them. As you approach, you note how she jumps and acts scared whenever a child in a costume runs up to her, and can't help but grin; you never took her for someone who's good with kids. 

Just as the latest customer leaves, Rus catches your eye and almost does a double take before offering a lopsided smile. She herself has facepaint on, and you vaguely recognise the signature Jack Skellington grin. Under normal circumstances you wouldnt' have thought much about it, but now that you're aware of at least part of your neighbors' situation, the fact that she chose to do skeleton facepaint makes you laugh.  
Rus quirks an eyebrow at you, before apparently catching onto why you're laughing and grinning back at you. "What? S'the only time of the year it's acceptable to do this, gotta make the most of it"

"Fair enough - I didn't expect you to be running a whole facepainting booth, though," You comment with a vague gesture of your hand to the little set up she has. It's not even a booth, really, just a couple chairs and a little table for the paint. Kids seem to be flocking to it, though - Rus is soon busy with another child sat in front of her trying to describe what they want.  
While she's occupied, you set your bag down only to jump back at a sudden bark from under her chair. You crouch down to find Nymph tied to the leg by a leash, although she has enough room to crawl out and jump up at you. A few of the waiting kids coo and squeal at the sight of her, and you can't really blame them - she's been dressed up as Zero, with a loose sheet cut small enough to be tucked into her collar and act as a sort of hood over her face. Little eyeholes have been cut out, and a small plastic pumpkin is stuck on the sheet just above her nose. She looks _adorable,_ and you could almost swear she knows it by how she basks in the attention and sudden influx of people wanting to pet her.

You get pushed back a bit by a few kids who seem particularly desperate to pet the dog, and chuckle quietly before moving to the other side of Rus' chair. "So _that's_ why your stall's so popular" You nod towards the small crowd that's gathered around Nymph once Rus finishes, and she snorts before grinning up at you.

"What can I say? She's a good marketing technique," Now that she has a small break, she seems to be studying your costume a bit more, and after a few seconds taps a finger to her cheekbone, in the same place as where your pseudo-injury is. "Ya got a little somethin' there"  
You instinctively bring a hand up to brush against your cheek, and then huff a laugh when you realise what she means.

"Yeah, Bubbles really wanted to do my makeup for me," You shrug slightly, although a smile is still present on your face. Rus gives a slow nod, before she twists in her seat and reaches a hand down into the small bag by her feet that you hadn't noticed until now. When she sits up again, she holds out two wrapped lollipops to you.

"I figured - if she didn't, I probably could'a done something for you," That would've been cool, maybe you could've asked for skeleton facepaint like hers. Oh well. "Anyways, take your pick, I got a lotta these to spare"  
You take one of the lollipops with a quiet "Thanks", and decide to put it in your bag for later. Rus, on the other hand, unwraps the one you didn't choose and immediately shoves it in her mouth.

You can't help but grin a bit - Rus is quite nice to talk to when she isn't giving you the cold shoulder. Actually, that reminds you of something you'd been meaning to say.  
"Oh, by the way," You start, prompting her to look up at you again from where she was scrunching the wrapping up and putting it back in the small bag, "Thanks for being honest with me, back at the aquarium. I don't know what you and your sister have been through, I doubt I ever truly will, but I appreciate you trying despite whatever happened"

Her expression goes from calm and attentive to one of diebelief in almost record time. It seems she wasn't expecting you to thank her for what she said. "I, uh- Yeah, don't worry about it, I know I was being kind of an asshole"

"Water under the bridge," You glance briefly towards the various other stalls before looking back at her, "I'm gonna go try and find Ri, but I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah- See ya"

You lean down and give Nymph a pet before you leave, then set about trying to track down Ri. You don't know what she's wearing or where she might be, so you can only guess and hope for the best. There's also Zia, Bubbles mentioned that she'd be here, but.. You don't really know her that well, it'd be a little weird to purposely seek her out.  
Hunting down Ri it is, then.

You pass by quite a few game stalls, the majority of which are very likely rigged, and do your best not to be tempted by the smell of food attacking you from every angle. It sucks that you left your money at home. although it may be for the best - if you had it with you, there's a high chance you'd be knee-deep in halloween themed junkfood right about now.

 

It takes you longer than you expected to find Ri. You passed by the haunted house while you were looking to get an idea of what it might be like and how long the queue is, and ran into Fell again a couple minutes later. She points you in the direction of the balloon & dart game booth, and that's where you finally encounter Ri.  
She greets you with a smile as soon as she realises you're there, but her smile is replaced by the most excited, childish grin you've ever seen on her face in a matter of seconds.

You're about to ask what that expression's for, but then she pulls her hair back behind her ears and you nearly choke laughing. Even if she hasn't dressed up in any extravagant costume like you half expected, there's no mistaking those fake elf ears hooked onto her actual ones. So _that's_ why Bubbles was so excited about your choice of costume.  
"Dude, I think you're like, legally obligated to stick with me for the rest of the night now" Ri laughs, and you snort before lightly punching her arm.

"Fine by me - were you gonna have a go at this?" You nod towards the booth, and your friend shrugs.

"Yeah, I got nothing better to do, did you wanna try?"

"I would, but I left all my money at home" In response, Ri pulls a few coins out of her back pocket and pushes them into your hands, despite how you try to give them back to her, "What? No, c'mon, you've already bought icecream for me and I still haven't payed you back for that, you can't buy this for me too!"

"Sure I can, watch me" Grinning, Ri starts towards the person running the booth, and lifts her hand above her head when you try to stop her. Goddamn tall people.  
You fail in trying to dissuade her from paying for you, and end up sighing as she hands you the three darts with a cheeky grin. Well, you can't let them go to waste now, might as well give it a go.

Popping balloons with darts proves a little more difficult than you'd first anticipated. The first dart you threw missed the balloon you were aiming for completely, but you manage to pop it with the second one. Ri cheers you on from behind you and the third dart pops one of the smaller balloons. You give yourself a mental pat on the back. With a practiced smile, the person running the booth points to the shelves of prizes once they gather the darts from the board. "Congrats, take your pick - anything from the lower two shelves"  
The prizes themselves aren't that impressive, most of them are halloween themed and the rest look like leftovers from some kind of carnival. You spot one that makes you grin, though, and lean over the counter slightly to point to it.

"That one, please!"

Once you have the pretzel plushie in your hands you turn and present it to Ri with a bow and a flourish. "A present for you, m'lady" She promptly snorts at your choice of words, but takes the prize out of your hands. When you next look up, you grin at how her face has flushed. The reddish tint highlights her freckles.

"Prob'ly should'a seen that coming, would it be too much of a copout to win something for you too?" Ri holds the plushie to her chest, squeezing it slightly and nearly jumping out of her skin when it squeaks in response. She almost drops it, and even if she did you wouldn't have been much help, you're immediate response was to laugh at how much she jumped at the noise.  
She takes a moment to get her breath back, holding the toy at arm's length away from her, before nudging you away from the booth to let other people play. She laughs slightly when she sees your expression.

"It squeaks" Ri states.

"It squeaks" You confirm, and she laughs again.

"Was there anything else you wanna do? Preferably free stuff, I have no more money" She shrugs, and you opt to not point out your distaste for the fact that she just spent the last of her money on you in favor of answering her question. You hope the look you briefly give her sends the message, though.

"Well, there's the haunted house - it looks pretty good, and it's free entry, you wanna go try that?" You're pretty sure that Ri just blanched at the mention of the house, and are about to suggest something else, but she speaks up before you can.

"Yea- Uh! Yeah! Sure!" Her voice has risen a couple octaves, and you narrow your eyes suspiciously at her.

"You sure?"

"... No, but! If you wanna do it, we can do it!" You don't get chance to protest as she links her arm with yours and pulls you in the direction of the main event of the evening. Well, this is sure to be interesting.

\--

Ri hasn't left your side since you entered the house. You're starting to feel bad for suggesting it, or for making her feel like she had to go in with you, or whatever you did to make her so determined to come with you. You wouldn't have minded doing something else with her, and just gone through with one of the others, but she insisted that she'd be fine.  
She doesn't look fine, though.

She flinches at every gruesome hanging decoration, and screams at every jumpscare (though, you admit you screamed at some of them too). Her grip on your arm is tighter than it's ever been before, and you're pretty sure you can feel her shaking. You can't enjoy the thrill of being scared like this, not when your friend is _genuinely_ terrified.

You stop in one of the rooms that you're pretty sure doesn't have any actors in it, pulling Ri gently to the side to give her a chance to calm down. Comforting people has never exactly been your forté, but you were damn well going to try. "Hey, you alright? We can leave if you want, I don't mind"

"No, it's- I'm fine, I just-" She takes a breath, and you watch as her eyes pass over everything in the room, hyperalert for anything that might be out to scare her. The only things moving are other customers passing through, though, and they don't give either of you a second glance. Eventually, she returns her attention to you. "I've never liked horror-type stuff, that's always been my sister's thing - I'm jus- I just can't deal with it as well as her. I didn't wanna stop you from going, though"  
You nod in understanding, keeping a hand on her shoulder (you'd ended up putting your fake axe in the plastic bag to save yourself from carrying it around) even as she curls in on herself slightly. Scary stories and horror stuff like haunted houses aren't for everyone, and while you appreciate her consideration for what you want to do, you don't like how she disregarded her own limitations to do it.

"Okay, that's fine - you don't need to worry about it, we'll just find one of those emergency exits and go meet up with the others" You give her a smile, hoping that it comes off as friendly, but any hope you might've had of comforting her in a calm manner goes completely down the drain when you feel a hand on your shoulder. A hand that does _not_ belong to your friend.  
And, okay, so you _might've_ been a little more freaked out and put on edge by the previous jumpscares than you'd let on, but those actors are very good at their jobs, and the one behind you is no different. As soon as you catch sight of the humanoid mannequin looming over you, you promptly shriek and bolt for the door, grabbing what you hope is Ri's hand on the way.

You make it through a room and two hallways before it dawns on you that the hand you're holding isn't Ri's. Ri doesn't have bandages covering her palm.

You nearly trip over yourself when you try to skid to a stop, spinning around on the spot to come face to face with the actor that had scared you - who you now recognise to be Zia. You stumble back a few steps as you let go of her hand, ignoring the way she's grinning at you in favor of pressing a hand to your chest instead and supporting yourself with a hand on your knee. "Oh my _God,_ you scared the shit outta me"

"I think that's the first time someone's been more scared than me," You look up again when you hear Ri's voice, taking note of how she's holding Zia's other hand. One of them must have grabbed the other when you ran off and pulled Zia along with you. With a somewhat breathless laugh, you take a moment to stand up straight again and stick your tongue out at Ri before looking over at Zia.

"Yeah, well, I think I had a valid reason to be scared - that's a cool costume, I didn't realise you were working here," The hallway you're in is much better lit than the other room, so you can see her outfit much more clearly. Joins have been painted onto her skin, and her clothes seem to be purposely tattered and ripped, with the occasional bloodstain on them. She has contacts in that make the majority of her eyes look black, and you have to admit, it looks a little creepy when she grins at you, even in the light.  
Zia raises her free hand and makes a gesture that looks like she's tugging the fabric of her shirt on her shoulder, but you only stare blankly as you try to figure out what she means. You almost forgot that she uses ASL instead of speaking.

Taking your silence as a cue that you don't understand, she resorts to making letter shapes with her hand instead.

_'V'_   
_'O'_   
_'L'_   
_'U'_

"Oh! Volunteer!" You're a little prouder of yourself than you probably should be when she nods confirmation, but you're glad that you managed to understand in the end. "That's pretty cool, no wonder I didn't see you around all evening"

"Hey, uh, not to be a party pooper or anything, but could we.. Maybe continue this outside?" Ri speaks up, returning to your side as you step out of the way to let a group of people pass.

"Yeah, that's probably not a bad idea," You let her take your hand again, and raise an eyebrow at Zia, "Is there an exit near here?"

She nods, and you follow behind her as she leads you to one of the emergency exits stationed around the house. Even once you're outside, Ri still doesn't let go of your hand, and her pretzel plushie squeaks every time her grip tightens even a fraction. You can't decide whether it's cute or funny.  
You go to say something, but Zia - having stopped before stepping outside - points a thumb back over her shoulder. Oh yeah, she probably has to get back to work.

"Thanks, Zia, we'll see you later!" You smile, and recieve one in return before she gives a mock salute to you both as she pivots on her heel.  
Ri waves to her as she returns, too, muttering a quiet "Bye, Z" just before the door closes again. Once it does, you turn your attention back to your friend. "Why don't we start heading back home? Or find the others, at least - it's getting dark"

"I can text them an' let them know we're going home, they probably won't be far behind" She replies, shifting the plushie to under her arm and pulling her phone out of her pocket as you start to walk away from the house. You adjust your grip on your bag as you walk, although a very soft tug on your hand makes you pause and look back at Ri. "Are, uh.. You sure you're okay with leaving? I don't mind staying, if you wanted to, I know I kinda ruined the whole haunted house thing"

You don't like seeing her so anxious, she doesn't deserve to feel like it's her fault. So you smile, and squeeze her hand as you start walking again. "Of course I don't mind! It's getting late, anyways, and word has it that there's movies to be watched back at your place" You nudge her with your elbow, and manage to make her grin again when it results in a squeak from the pretzel toy.

"Okay... Thanks, _tesoro"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _oof_ i didn't think i was gonna get this done in time :"D and!! it's gonna be a two-parter!! because i have no self-control!!!
> 
> it's a lot longer to make up for the shortness of the last chapter - i hope you guys enjoy it! as always, any kind of feedback is immensely appreciated <3 <3
> 
> also, since i am Not Good at describing outfits & feel like i didn't do any of them justice, [here's](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61Pf1%2B2l%2BgL._UX522_.jpg) what i based siren's costume on, and [here's](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vLkQOP8x_18/maxresdefault.jpg) the base for ruby's. or you guys are free to interpret them however you want! i'm chill with it either way lmao

**Author's Note:**

> holy shit i have no idea how ao3 works-
> 
> anyways, i hope you guys like this trash that i’ve been working on for two years! i’m super excited to finally be comfortable writing something for it.
> 
> you probably already know this, but i have a [tumblr](https://ut-stuff.tumblr.com/), where you can ask anything you’re curious about! 
> 
> there’s also a few [refs](https://ut-stuff.tumblr.com/post/173454659734/didnt-you-say-you-were-redesigning-the-characters) i made of the girls, since my description skills leave much to be desired =“ )
> 
> please feel free to tell me what you think!!


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